Last Edited:
07-17-2004
Application Service Providers
(A Scathing Review from ZDnet)
Lots of negative comments in the attached story...
http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/stories/story/0,10738,2561552,00.html
It seems that the above comments are from the users point
of view.
I have attended ASPCON and ASP Summit and have noticed that the user's point of
view was rarely discussed.
There were 3 major points of view discussed at the conferences:
- The ASPs
- The ASP's suppliers (e.g., SUN)
- The ASP's customers (i.e., The IT Dept)
I have summarized the comments from the users:
ASP Definition:
- Mainframes warmed over...access your mainframe over the
internet.
- Renting software and running it remotely over the
internet...
Main drawbacks:
- who would rather lease than buy??? (car lease vs. buy
example)
- Need broadband access... very bad news for 56k modem
people and those not connected (e.g., Laptops at airports/airplanes) (note: this
was before the days of WiFi)
- Let the IT dept do it (e.g. corporate travel vouchers
via intranet)... even they can't do it
well and they have an easier problem...fewer customer, already
have broadband.
- Can't set parameters on your software, everybody gets the
same copy. When ASP updates the master copy, it may not run your old
data.
- ASPs still haven't handled the supposedly most universal
app: Payroll. No common payroll for all companies. (still not done as of 2004)
- People don't want others storing (spying) on their private
data. However, If designed properly, data can be stored on your hard drive.
But is still must be passed through the ASP...visible to spys...
Main plus:
- No physical distribution of software...
but one
could download the software to kill off this "main plus"...
Anthony Clark
