Billions of dollars in investment are betting that your company will outsource not only support operations like data processing but also just about any aspect of corporate computing. Major software suppliers, property firms and telecoms companies are joining forces at an astonishing rate to offer ASP services, with trials now under way by corporate clients in Asia's more wired cities.
ASPs essentially lease a client access to software, data storage and even communications.
The client accesses the service, often through a Web browser, either over the Internet or through a private connection. That means it has no need to maintain or upgrade the hardware, software and networks it uses. The falling costs and growing capacity of communications technologies make it attractive for companies to pay an ASP to take care of even its most critical IT operations. It's an exciting opportunity. In Asia especially, many smaller companies need to upgrade their IT set-up.