It expects to announce the closure of a similar deal shortly. This is something that's very new to SMEs. In the ASP model, they go to a provider like Peakhour or NAB and rent the software they need over the web. Speaking at the ASP debate, Northline chief financial officer Paul Talkington said the transition had resulted in cost savings and the transferral of its non-core IT business into the hands of a specialist. To date, however, Australian businesses have been slow to embrace the ASP model.
Users express concern about system and network access, security and loss of control.
The ASP alternative, by virtue of the fact businesses often outsourced their intellectual property, was a risky one, Mr Jester conceded. Gartner predicted only 30 of the 81 ASPs in the market today would exist at the end of 2001. Your best source of IT news, views and jobs at Australian IT .