Possibly the biggest worry is putting part of your business in the hands of an unproven startup. Most industry watchers foresee a massive shakeout and consolidation. And if yours goes belly-up, you could too. If not, kiss your data goodbye. The only thing between you and a data disaster is control.
Market analysts are convinced that the present turmoil is nothing more than industry growing pains.
Widespread adoption of ASPs will depend in several things. The first is low-cost, accessible broadband. Meanwhile, companies that did create applications for the Web are distancing themselves from their kin with anew moniker. Calif. Web-ready or not, the newly anointed IBS's haven't stood the test of time, either. So if you decide to take the plunge, ask hard questions about security, data backups, data ownership, reliability, and business stability.