The rules of the software game have changed over the past five years. Today’s consumers are less and inclined to spend money on desktop software applications.
Most applications come bundled with their PCs, personal digital assistants (PDAs), MP3 players or video camera.
The internet has created a publicly accessible infrastructure that connects users to off site applications worldwide and provides an environment where information can be exchange cheaply and seamlessly.
Now plenty of people believe that the wave of the future is offering software as a service that’s delivered over the web.
Corporations have been complaining for years about the expense and trouble of the computer system. They have to pay millions of dollar for hardware and software , then more each year to maintain and update them.
But with application service providers handling these tasks, they could concentrate on running their business – simply pay the ASP a monthly fee.
What is application service provider? An application service provider is a company that has one or several applications installed in its data center but not for its own use. Rather, an ASP sells the access to its installed application to its customer. It is a third party organization that manages and distribute software and services on the web.
Potential and actual customer are gradually noting the value of ASP based application outsourcing to provide their business with more flexibility and more available resources, so they can better respond to competing pressures.
Application service provider shifts the burden of installing, maintaining and upgrading an application from the application user to the remote computing center.
The service of an application service provider enables companies to move applications from desktops to dedicated application servers, having now only a centralized server to maintain instead of a larger number of workstations.
So what went wrong? The biggest obstacle has been inertia. It’s just plain hard to persuade people to try something new. Corporate IT department are reluctant to give control over their computing system.
And CEOs are worried about net security and fret about handling important business data over to another company. Even among customers who get satisfactory service, there is tendency to move cautiously.
Application service provider and its business
