Experts at the recent ASP Business Strategies Summit conference agreed that the true state of the application service provider market is a healthy one, despite contrary media hype claiming that the industry is struggling to survive. Speakers cited several trends as evidence that ASPs will be around for some time to come. It's a solid mechanism for delivering IT services. ASPs host software applications on their own servers within their own facilities.
Customers access the applications through private lines or the Internet.
Although some ASPs have seen hard times, largely because of the dot-com downturn, others have adapted to the changing marketplace and have learned what it takes to stay afloat in the process. An Industrywide Evolution Consolidation is one of the techniques for success being used throughout the ASP marketplace. Some say there could be consolidation by as much as 60 percent over the next couple of years. Hunter believes that the merging, acquiring and restructuring that is occurring among ASPs is healthy. Where you see consolidation or merging, you are creating a stronger whole.