For database software, he recommended Oracle, MySQL, SQLServer, or DB Textworks. ODBC, DBI, or SQL can address the database access layer. Dynamic websites do not have to include all of these layers of control, but there must be some way to get the information from the database onto the web browser. Creating a dynamic website can be done cheaply if the organization has someone with the technical knowledge. An ASP can design and maintain the dynamic website, freeing the authors of the site to create the content.
Portability is a key concern with any project.
Many ASP s put data into proprietary software, which are not compatible with other systems. In that case, it would be very difficult to end a relationship with an ASP because the data could not be easily transferred into another database. One way to insure portability is to only use XML ready systems. Because it is a standardized language, XML systems are more portable. Stephen Arnold of Arnold Information Technology talked about these and other content management concerns.