Lessons from real world users at ASPworld

One thing refreshing about the ASPworld Conference & Expo in San Jose two weeks ago was finding corporate users milling about.

In fact, my colleague John Gallant had one would-be user front and center in a featured presentation called the ASP Dating Game, an event styled after the old game show. Troy Tate, corporate network manager with CTS in Elkhart, Ind., posed questions to three anonymous vendors separated by a screen.

After pressing representatives from Qwest Cyber.Solutions, Corio and Infinium, Tate picked Corio as the company that sounded like it could best meet his needs. It was fun to watch.

These were some of the simple lessons I gleaned from Troy and others at the show:

It isn't always about the money. While the ASP option lets you pay as you grow instead of installing infrastructure robust enough to accommodate future needs, some users say ASPs don't necessarily save you money. Why use them? Because they can get applications up fast and you sidestep the people problem. That said, one customer told me that when he scales his mySAP implementation beyond 200 users he expects to be paying his ASP less than $200 per seat.

Make it a three-party deal. Any application of importance will require integration with back-end systems you retain. So, do you leave the integration job to the ASP, team the ASP with an integrator or team the ASP with the application vendor? The short answer is it depends on the application. A few people said it is best to bring in a third-party integrator to work with the ASP if the application is demanding. That gives you the most accountability.

ASPs aren't just for small players. Conventional wisdom has it that only small shops are interested in hosted apps. Poppycock. I sat next to a woman from a $7 billion firm that was taking lots of notes. And a representative from a large automaker was telling me how his company is using ASPs for certain applications. He sees it unfolding application by application. And he'll shop each to a number of ASPs; he doesn't care if the business ends up with the same shop.

The overall message the show left with me is this stuff is real, and there is something for everyone. Before you buy that next application, assess your hosting options.

-John Dix, Editor in chief
jdix@nww.com

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