ASAP Software Patents Hardware Theft Alert Technology

Buffalo Grove, IL, 01/28/2005 -- ASAP Software®, an international software services and hardware provider, has been granted a patent on hardware theft prevention technology embedded in its asset management solution, ASAP eSMART™.

ASAP eSMART, tracks hardware devices, software inventory and license compliance across an enterprise through a small data collection agent that sends information to ASAP’s data center from each monitored system. IT administrators can then access and view the data on demand and download management reports via the Internet. The theft alert technology has actually been a component of eSMART since its inception in 2001.

“The theft alert technology is a natural extension of eSMART because of the way it tracks hardware devices,” said Harry Zoberman, ASAP’s senior vice president of marketing and operations. “Our customers have been praising eSMART’s software and hardware tracking capabilities since we launched it almost four years ago. The key capability is that eSMART tracks devices connected to a WAN or the Internet. A device doesn’t have to be located within the enterprise’s WAN in order for eSMART to track it.”

Each device monitored by eSMART sends a patented electronic “beacon” to ASAP’s network operations center every 24 hours. If a device, such as a laptop, is reported stolen, an IT administrator creates an alert within eSMART. When someone connects the missing laptop to the Internet, the eSMART agent sends an alert to the administrator, who can then track the location of the device through the IP address.

Cindy Grogan, ASAP’s vice president of asset management, says the patented theft alert technology paid for an entire year of a customer’s eSMART subscription.

“One of our customers reported the theft of two laptops. The IT Director entered the information through an alert within eSMART. Three weeks later, he received notification from eSMART about one of the stolen laptops. The notification contained an IP address, which he traced to a local business with the help of the Internet Service Provider. The police arrested a suspect in his cubicle with both laptops in his possession.”

This is the fifth patent granted to ASAP Software for its asset management solution. There are other patents pending, including software inventory management, device status tracking (“beaconing”), and others. Since being launched in 2001, eSMART has won national and international technology industry awards such as the Microsoft Certified Partner Award, the SIIA Codie Award and the Microsoft Canada Impact Award.

About ASAP Software

ASAP Software, founded in 1984, provides software, services, hardware products, and asset management solutions from its more than 40 offices throughout North America and Europe, a team of Certified Software Managers and ASAP E-Way, its award-winning eBusiness solution. ASAP Software is part of the Buhrmann Company, an international business services and distribution leader and the world’s major supplier of office products, paper, and graphic systems for the business market. For more information, contact ASAP Software at 800.248.ASAP, or visit the company’s Web site at www.asap.com.

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