Users run the applications on their desktops, while management is a remote function. Network computers, on the other hand, run applications from a server, increasing the bandwidth and computing power required to maintain a corporate network. While Microsoft would like Digex and other ASPs to use its BackOffice products, the company also is looking to bolster its efforts to rent Office and other software products online. Digex is one of Microsoft's partners in software rentals. We'll continue to do more of these partnerships.
ASPs are another outlet for our software.
The emergence of ASPs are making customers rethink the concept of the types of productivity applications they use. It levels the playing field for a lot of other product vendors. ASPs can change the computing playing field, potentially, because they shift application management over to an outside party. ASPs may play a large part in HP's future. Inc. All rights reserved.