Work is where the server is.
The b2b exchanges, which are exploding in industries from autos to chemicals, are coincident with the ASP utility model and are firstly directed at squeezing supplier costs out of the supply chain. They promise to collapse distribution channels, cut out middle men, and force suppliers to do 'whatever it takes' to be the low cost provider. All of these efforts move toward what Adam Smith would have applauded as a near perfect competitive market with full information and frictionless transactions. A potential advantage of the ASP utility model in dealing with the particularly hot b2b exchange market is to facilitate rich information relationships which reduce elements of cost inefficiencies without sacrificing personal relationship effectiveness. Needless to say, some of these cost reductions will be effected simply by reducing head count.