[via Sadagopan] FastCompany writes: "Web-based applications free companies from constraints on growth."
Enterprise Software | PermaLink
You may have heard of these new style applications described as ASPs (Application Service Providers), On-demand applications, or Hosted software. All those terms mean the same thing: Your application vendor hosts and maintains the software and the hardware to run it so you don't have to.The types of applications that are available using this approach run the gamut from pure business applications to group calendars, HR and workflow applications, and specialized applications for different industries. Some applications that use substantial resources on the PC, such as 3D modeling programs, are the laggards -- but with faster networking technology even those types of programs may succumb to this trend.
This is a Pollyannish approach towards IT. ASP is a model that has been around for quite some time now, and the rules governing ASP purchases are the same as any others governing a standard "technology buy."
As one of the first analysts covering ASP in the mid 1990s, I identified the key challenges for companies deploying ASP were integration, architecture and support.
Burgeoning ASPs in the late 1990s were challenged to scale their support models, because every hosted solution was a custom implementation of a supposedly standardized application (e.g. Lotus Notes, Siebel, SAP, PeopleSoft, etc.)
Today, the ASP model for businesses is well-defined by Salesforce.com, a company with an "off-the-shelf" hosted solution with a broad channel supporting ongoing feature requests and integration requirements.
Just because the solution is hosted doesn't mean that companies aren't constrained by architecture, scalability, integration and economics. At some point, it will make more sense for a company to manage a solution in-house. We must all be smart customers, and ASP doesn't change that.
Posted by: Daniel Taylor on August 11, 2005 09:18 AM