Types of Customers Using ASPs

Most industry experts agree the most appropriate market for ASPs is small and mid-sized organizations, but all agree there is also opportunity within both large enterprises and consumers. With the help of an ASP, small and mid-sized organizations can deploy enterprise applications that without an ASP would involve massive investments in software, deployment time and IT personnel. These businesses can then benefit from the efficiencies of integrated, enterprise applications that were previously not cost-effective to develop and use.

With business operations now increasingly dependent on complex and rapidly changing information systems, IT managers are embracing the ASP approach to ensuring secure, business-critical applications. Large companies may decide to enlist an ASP to quickly deploy critical, enterprise applications at an affordable cost, since the resource requirements for supporting these systems have grown exponentially.

Application rental for home PC applications is in its infancy. Its appeal to home users is based on the same benefits that corporations enjoy: a minimal up-front investment, regular maintenance, high reliability, and the ability to focus one's limited resources on areas of expertise and enjoyment. There are applications today that have already been successfully hosted to consumers, such as tax applications.

ASP Customers

Companies already purchasing or renting applications through an ASP	8%
Companies likely to purchase or rent applications from an ASP in the future	23%

Source: ASP Industry Consortium/PMP Research, London; Survey of 1,983 end-user companies worldwide

ASP Expenditures
Where ASPs spend your money:

Operations staff 22.2%

Sales and marketing 14.4%

Applications being delivered 13%

Servers 10.4%

Data center 10.1%

Help desk support 9%

Network equipment 4.3%

Storage capacity 4.2%

Network access/connection 4.1%

Other network costs 4.4%

Other software 3.9%

Source: IDC, Framingham, Mass.