The connection is through a cheap Internet connection, a virtual private network or a dedicated line. The thin computers used by customers are cheap, have fewer maintenance problems, and can t be diverted by employees for any purpose other than their intended use. Customers can access the software they need without worrying about upgrades, obsolescence or the ability to scale up to more powerful applications. While this business model has yet to be proved on a large scale, it should save time and money for the customer while allowing ASPs to reap generous profits. Services are sold at a set fee per employee per month or on a hosted outsourcing basis, with FutureLink serving as a company s information technology department.
Additional revenues come from consulting and outsourcing of services.
In the future, the company expects to offer an application portal service whereby anyone with an Internet connection could access consumer or small business software on an hourly basis. In addition, the company expects to be in the data hosting business, potentially a major growth field on its own. This involves storing large industry-specific data bases that would be delivered from FutureLink s server farm. Small to mid-sized businesses are the expected clients, and FutureLink has been signing them up at a fairly impressive rate. It s ahead of FutureLink in sales and assets, but also has a much larger market cap.