In the past, iSeries 400 developers have been limited to delivering software to users that either have an iSeries 400 on-site or can access one on a wide area network. Furthermore, they present a slick graphical user interface for green-screen iSeries 400 applications. The total cost of owning an application extends far beyond the purchase price to include the cost of providing hardware, purchasing upgrades, installing the application, etc. An ASP, on the other hand, distributes capital infrastructure and service support across many users within multiple companies, creating significant cost savings. Speed to desktop is also an important issue for many organizations.
ASPs can usually deploy applications faster because they have a higher level of expertise.
In the iSeries 400 arenas, the ASP business model should, if anything, be even more attractive than in the general software market. The cost of extending iSeries 400 infrastructure to smaller branch offices also hinders adoption rates. The ASP business model eliminates many of the concerns users have with iSeries environments. Meanwhile users that already have iSeries 400 hardware can expand the application to branch offices or remote users without investing in additional hardware. By overcoming the limitations of proprietary hardware and a cumbersome user interface, the ASP model opens up an enormous potential new market for iSeries 400 developers.