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An application service provider (ASP) is a business that provides computer-based services to customers over a network. Software offered using an ASP model is also sometimes called On-demand software or software as a service (SaaS). The most limited sense of this business is that of providing access to a particular application program (such as medical billing) using a standard protocol such as HTTP. HTTP (for HyperText Transfer Protocol) is the primary method used to convey information on the World Wide Web. ...
The need for ASPs has evolved from the increasing costs of specialized software that have far exceeded the price range of small to medium sized businesses. As well, the growing complexities of software have led to huge costs in distributing the software to end-users. Through ASPs, the complexities and costs of such software can be cut down. In addition, the issues of upgrading have been eliminated from the end-firm by placing the onus on the ASP to maintain up-to-date services, 24 x 7 technical support, physical and electronic security and in-built support for business continuity and flexible working. Business Continuity is a progression of disaster recovery, aimed at allowing an organisation to continue functioning after (and ideally, during) a disaster, rather than simply being able to recover after a disaster. ...
The importance of this marketplace is reflected by its size. As of early 2003, estimates of the United States market range from 1.5 to 4 billion dollars. Clients for ASP services include businesses, government organizations, non-profits, and membership organizations. 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Events January events January 1 Luíz Inácio Lula Da Silva becomes the 37th President of Brazil. ...
Provider types There are several forms of ASP business. These are: - A specialist or functional ASP delivers a single application, such as credit card payment processing or timesheet services;
- A vertical market ASP delivers a solution package for a specific customer type, such as a dental practice;
- An enterprise ASP delivers broad spectrum solutions;
- A local ASP delivers small business services within a limited area.
Some analysts identify a volume ASP as a fifth type. This is basically a specialist ASP that offers a low cost packaged solution via their own website. PayPal was an instance of this type, and their volume was one way to lower the unit cost of each transaction. A timesheet is a method for recording the amount of a workers time spent on each job. ...
A small business may be defined as a business with a small number of employees. ...
eBay North First Street satellite office campus (home to PayPal) PayPal is an e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. ...
In addition to these types, some large multi-line companies (such as IBM), use ASP concepts as a particular business model that supports some specific customers. IBM redirects here. ...
The ASP model The application software resides on the vendor's system and is accessed by users through a web browser using HTML or by special purpose client software provided by the vendor. Custom client software can also interface to these systems through XML APIs. These APIs can also be used where integration with in-house systems is required. HTML, short for Hypertext Markup Language, is the predominant markup language for the creation of web pages. ...
The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a general-purpose markup language. ...
API may refer to: In computing, application programming interface In petroleum industry, American Petroleum Institute In education, Academic Performance Index This page concerning a three-letter acronym or abbreviation is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...
API may refer to: In computing, application programming interface In petroleum industry, American Petroleum Institute In education, Academic Performance Index This page concerning a three-letter acronym or abbreviation is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...
Common features associated with ASPs include:
- ASP fully owns and operates the software application(s)
- ASP owns, operates and maintains the servers that support the software
- ASP makes information available to customers via the Internet or a "thin client"
- ASP bills on a "per-use" basis or on a monthly/annual fee
The advantages to this approach include: A HP T5700 thin client, with flash memory A Neoware m100 thin client. ...
- Software integration issues are eliminated from the client site
- Software costs for the application are spread over a number of clients
- Vendors can build more application experience than the in-house staff
- Key software systems are kept up to date, available, and managed for performance by experts
- Improve the reliability, availability, scalability and security of internal IT systems
- A provider's service level agreement guarantees a certain level of service
- Access product and technology experts dedicated to available products
- Reduce internal IT costs to a predictable monthly fee.
- Redeploy IT staff and tools to focus on strategic technology projects that impact the enterprise's bottom line
Some inherent disadvantages include: Service Level Agreement (SLA) is that part of a service contract where the level of service is formally defined. ...
- The client must generally accept the application as provided since ASPs can only afford a customized solution for the largest clients
- The client may rely on the provider to provide a critical business function, thus limiting their control of that function and instead relying on the provider
- Changes in the ASP market may result in changes in the type or level of service available to clients
- Integration with the client's non-ASP systems may be problematic
Evaluating an Application Service Provider security when moving to an ASP infrastructure can come at a high cost, as such a firm must assess the level of risk associated with the ASP itself. Failure to properly account for such risk can lead to: - Loss of control of corporate data
- Loss of control of corporate image
- Insufficient ASP security to counter risks
- Exposure of corporate data to other ASP customers
- Compromise of corporate data
Some other risks include failure to account for the financial future of the ASP in general, i.e. how stable a company are they and do they have the resources to continue business into the foreseeable future. For these reasons Cisco Systems has developed a comprehensive evaluation guideline. This guideline includes evaluating the scope of the ASP's service, the security of the program and the ASP's maturity with regard to security awareness. Finally the guidelines indicate the importance of performing audits on the ASP with respect to: A Cisco ASM/2-32EM router deployed at CERN in 1987. ...
- Port/Network service
- Application vulnerability
- ASP Personnel
Physical visits to the ASP to assess the formality of the organization will provide invaluable insight into the awareness of the firm.
Examples of ASP applications In early 2005, a wide range of applications were made available to the public using the ASP model. There are "free" and simple applications such as Yahoo Calendar and business solutions such as Salesforce.com and NetSuite. Yahoo! Calendar is a Web-based calendar service from Yahoo! It is one of the biggest online calendar providers on the Internet, serving millions of users (others include Gmail and Hotmail). ...
Salesforce. ...
NetSuite Inc. ...
24SevenOffice is an Enterprise resource planning (ERP) and Customer relationship management (CRM) system for small and medium sized businesses delivered on demand through a Ajax-powered web-based interface (Software as a Service). ...
The phrase Application Service Provider or ASP was created by a company in Norway called Telecomputing. ...
Arena Solutions is a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) company headquartered in Foster City, CA. Arena uses the on-demand model of software delivery also known as Software as a service (Saas). ...
[edit] Profile ATG (Art Technology Group, Inc. ...
Autodesk, Inc. ...
The subject of this article may not satisfy the notability guideline or one of the following guidelines for inclusion on Wikipedia: Biographies, Books, Companies, Fiction, Music, Neologisms, Numbers, Web content, or several proposals for new guidelines. ...
For other uses, see concurrency. ...
EditGrid is a Web 2. ...
eMeta Corporation is a leading provider of access control, subscription management and ecommerce software for media, entertainment and software companies. ...
EnergyICT is a Belgian provider of solutions for energy management related problems. ...
Google Apps is a service from Google for using custom domain names with several Google products. ...
HansaWorld is a software company that provides integrated business solutions. The company was founded in 1988 by Karl Bohlin and currently employs 300 people. ...
Founded in 1998, Ingenta provides technology and associated services to the publishing and information industries. ...
JotSpot is an application wiki company to offer enterprise social software. ...
This article reads like an advertisement. ...
LiveProcess, is a company that provides a web-based software solution that allows multiple hospitals, using their platform, to communicate in a common language; specifically in situations such as disasters. ...
NetSuite Inc. ...
NxTier, is an Application service provider company that provides software solutions to the Logistics and Supply Chain Industry. ...
Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) is one of the major companies developing database management systems (DBMS), tools for database development, middle-tier software, enterprise resource planning software (ERP), customer relationship management software (CRM) and supply chain management (SCM) software. ...
QuickBooks is the most commonly used small-business accounting and management software in the US. It is made by Intuit. ...
RightNow Technologies NASDAQ: RNOW is a U.S. software company that develops customer relationship management (CRM) software small and mid-market businesses. ...
Salesforce. ...
Nuvvo is an on-demand e-learning service designed for individual instructors. ...
Nuvvo is an on-demand e-learning service designed for individual instructors. ...
The Sage Group plc (LSE: SGE) is a leading UK based supplier of accounting, payroll, CRM and business management software (including manufacturing and construction-specific ranges) as well as related services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). ...
SugarCRM is a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution vendor. ...
TriSys is a recruitment software application and was the first windows based recruitment software package in the world. ...
Twinfield is a privately help SaaS company, which was founded on October 5th 2000 in The Netherlands. ...
Xero ( NZX: XRO ) is a Wellington, New Zealand-based software company specialising in accounting software for small medium sized enterprises (SMEs). ...
History In terms of their common goal of enabling customers to outsource specific computer applications so they can focus on their core competencies, ASPs may be regarded as the indirect descendants of the service bureaus of the 1960s and 1970s. In turn, those bureaus were trying to fulfill the vision of computing as a utility, which was first proposed by John McCarthy in a speech at MIT in 1961. Outsourcing became part of the business lexicon during the 1980s and often refers to the delegation of non-core operations from internal production to an external entity specializing in the management of that operation. ...
A companys core competency is the one thing that it can do better than its competitors. ...
A Professional Employer Organization, or PEO, is a licensed (US?) service bureau that calculates and processes a companys payroll checks. ...
The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ...
The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979. ...
John McCarthy (born September 4, 1927, in Boston, Massachusetts, sometimes known affectionately as Uncle John McCarthy), is a prominent computer scientist who received the Turing Award in 1971 for his major contributions to the field of Artificial Intelligence. ...
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private, coeducational research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ...
Year 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
See also Software as a service (SaaS) is a model of software delivery where the software company provides maintenance, daily technical operation, and support for the software provided to their client. ...
// Solutions Provider A Solutions Provider is any company or people that provides solutions associated with a product or a final service to the client. ...
A Hosted Service Provider (xSP) is a business that delivers a combination of traditional IT functions such as infrastructure, applications (Software as a Service), security, monitoring, storage, Web development, website hosting and email, over the Internet or other Wide Area Networks (WAN). ...
Business service providers (BSPs) are companies that offer state-of-the-art business applications over the Web. ...
Service Level Agreement (SLA) is that part of a service contract where the level of service is formally defined. ...
This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...
Outsourcing became part of the business lexicon during the 1980s and often refers to the delegation of non-core operations from internal production to an external entity specializing in the management of that operation. ...
Multitenancy refers to the architectural principle, where a single instance of the software runs on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) vendors servers, serving multiple client organizations (tenants). ...
A Secure Virtual Office is a software environment which allows people to securely access and run applications on a remote server from an internet connection - as if the application and data was on their own desktop machine. ...
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