As working librarians, we need the power of ASPs to organize critical information for decision making. We also need to separate the hype from the reality, so we can decide when to use ASPs and when to use other software. Increasingly sophisticated databases, calendaring functions, and even financial management software make ASPs factors that serious managers must consider. I have been exploring free application service providers to use in our library, and I have found ways to use them both in library operations and in related organizational work. In general, the consensus definition of an ASP is a Web-based computer application that resides on a server rather than on a local personal computer.
Large organizations use applications across the entire firm or enterprise.
Consumer-level ASPs are targeted to small businesses, individuals, and organizations. Many of these smaller types of ASPs are available for free at a basic level, with monthly charges per user for more advanced service levels. Also, the ASP offers what may be a small organization's only chance to obtain a specific type of software, such as project management software that's too expensive to buy outright but is affordable as a per-user monthly rental. In addition to riding last year's venture-capital boomlet, ASPs were also heralded as the Next New Thing because of the expected spread of broadband Internet connections. Unfortunately, as I learned decades ago while bodysurfing off Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, getting ahead of a wave leaves you just as dead in the water as missing one altogether.