After years of purchasing software packages for the company's server or installing programs on individual PCs, she decided to jump into the on-line world for her software needs. After all, she is answerable not to shareholders, but to her donors who want their money to go to needy children not software companies. Already an internet buzzword, an ASP or application service provider earns its money by renting out software on a subscription basis. It delivers its products via the Internet from its data center directly to a user's web browser. The number of ASPs already operating in Asia is staggering, considering that existing ones only have a sprinkling of customers each.
ASPs essentially provide two kinds of software.
Heavyweights, like Great Plains, J. D. Edwards and SAP, have all selected different ASP partners to sell their products through this new channel. In most cases, the lower your head count, the lower the monthly fee. Large-sized companies, however, can also benefit from this form of outsourcing. Moving to an ASP means there is no need to hire IT staff to implement new software and no maintenance afterwards. All that is required is a web browser and a good Internet connection.