Beauty and the BEASP

Network World, 02/15/99

If only you had known in the '60s how hot running shoes, computers and software would be in the '80s. And in the '80s, if only you had known about the Internet. So what do you need to know for the '00s?

In short: Broadband Enabled Applications Service Providers (BEASP, or ASP for short). ASPs will be a new breed of provider that marries physical network connectivity with the business applications that ride over these networks.

You must understand the implications surrounding ASPs. Today's decisions on network hardware - how you equip your remote sales people, what approach you take to tunneling and even what services you buy - will affect the ease of migration to ASPs' services.

Many firms will appear in the next few years. Some well-known partnerships, such as Qwest and Microsoft, are already positioning for their future ASP roles. ASPs will play an instrumental part in assisting businesses - especially small and mid-size firms - with Web-enabling their workflows, implementing enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications, creating extranets and intranets, and doing business online.

ASPs will redefine boundaries between the business and the network, integrating the two as never before. The projected results will be lower business costs, better efficiency and more revenue and profits.

What can you expect from ASPs? You can expect a new set of services that integrate connectivity (preferably high-speed) with software, content, storage and retrieval. To host the software and applications, the ASP network will include yet another emerging technology - the storage-area network.

Examples of offerings from ASPs might include:

Extranet services: These services would include the connectivity, applications and management for a set price per seat. Price would be driven not by the size of the pipe but by the number of people using the service each year, the amount of content stored on the network and the network resources that are accessed.

Network-based applications: Say you are a business that wants to deploy an ERP application from SAP or PeopleSoft. The program is hosted on the ASP network and is used as part of a comprehensive service that provides all the components necessary to migrate your business to the new environment and keep it moving forward.

Videostreaming services: Now you want to tell all your distributors worldwide about a new product and how to sell it. The ASP lets you tap into a videostreaming service and store the content for a year so that new distributors can catch up on what's available.

Managed-software services: Like many businesses, you may just find it a pain to keep up with the releases and fixes in your basic business software. The ASP can provide a simple annual service that allows you to use what you need - when you need it. That means you won't have to worry about revision maintenance or operating a help desk.

Stay with us over the next several months as we explore the technologies, services, risks, hurdles and opportunities that stem from the ASP movement.