Overall, the companies contacted preferred an applications software vendor or a dedicated ASP to provide ASP services. However, this mainly described the behavior of small companies, while most industry categories preferred an Internet service provider over other firms listed. Most companies with a preference would rather pay for ASP services based on transaction volume versus number of users, transaction value, or other value measurements. The public Internet was cited as the preferred access method, except at large companies, which prefer a private network. Notably the surveys were conducted four months earlier than the C-level executive study.
Suppliers believe ASPs are for small companies.
Not only are the larger companies more familiar with the concept, but IDC has demonstrated in four separate studies since 1997 that larger companies are equally or more interested in considering working with ASPs. Type of firm, type of access preferred, and type of payment method are also examined. Results, representing the North American market, are analyzed by industry, company size, and other adoption characteristics. Most results are presented by site size, industry, and technology adoption characteristic. Results, representing the North American market, are analyzed by industry, company size, and other adoption characteristics.