One thing analysts expect is an increase in so-called Internet business service providers, such as Salesforce.com Inc., Upshot Corp., Portera Systems Inc. and Blue Matrix Inc., which write their own Web-native applications to be delivered via the Internet on a monthly subscription basis.
There's no question the ASP market will thrive, observers say. But you probably won't know the players as ASPs. Software as a service, it seems, is what we will call the next big thing.
"The word ASP will have to be retired. It's too damaged a name. To relaunch the word ASP would be tantamount to relaunching ValuJet," says Tom DePasquale, CEO of Outtask.com Inc., an Alexandria, Va., firm that hosts business applications such as human resource management, CRM and sales force automation. "Software as a service is the entire model of the Microsoft .Net effort. It's very much the focus of Oracle. It's the focus of the leading software companies of the world. It's easy to argue the days of shipping CDs are over."
Related stories:
- The Time's Not Right for ASPs, Aug. 20, 2001
- Users Speak: ASPs Can Be the Real Deal, Aug. 20, 2001
- Fewer ASPs, More Services, Aug. 20, 2001
This story, "What went wrong with ASPs?" was originally published by Network World.