Lotus releases software, services for ASPs

Lotus Monday unveiled details of its collaborative services program for application service providers, including software tailored to the needs of the company's ASP partners. The main aim of the announcement is to make it easier for ASPs to host Lotus software and offer it to their customers, the vendor said.

ASPs rent out software to businesses who need sophisticated computer applications but may not have the money available to employ the in-house technical expertise needed to implement such software. Teaming up with ASPs also allows companies to outsource software maintenance costs.

ASPs voicing their support for the Lotus strategy included Sun, Encanto Networks and Interliant.

Lotus will not act as an ASP itself, but instead is making it easier for the company's partners to use Lotus software to do so, Lotus CEO and President Al Zollar said. He noted that several service providers had been hosting Lotus software for some time. "You can take these products and host them today," Zollar said here Monday at the official launch of the Lotus ASP initiative.

As part of its ASP program, Lotus is shipping its ASP Solution Pack, a package designed to help ASPs customize Lotus software for use by small to midsize businesses, according to Zollar. The Lotus software covered by the ASP Solution Pack includes Notes, Domino Workflow, QuickPlace, SameTime, LearningSpace, Mobile Services for Domino and SmartSuite. One of the software pack's features will allow ASPs to separately track customer use of Lotus applications for billing purposes, Zollar said.

Lotus intends its ASP Solution Pack to form the basis for delivering the company's collaborative software - including e-mail, calendaring, real-time awareness and instant messaging - into new markets to reach more customers and decrease administrative costs, the vendor said.

Keeping the total cost of ownership low for customers and keeping Lotus focused on its areas of expertise are key parts of the business strategy, Zollar said. "Not everybody is going to be good at everything," he said. "You have to go with what you're good at."

Over 100 ASPs have joined in Lotus' partnering program, according to the company.

Analysts say they believe the ASP market will grow tremendously over the next few years. In a statement, Lotus quoted figures from market research company IDC. IDC projects ASP revenue derived from collaborative applications will swell from $160 million this year to an estimated $2 billion by 2004.

Lotus, a subsidiary of IBM, can be reached at 617-577-8500 or www.lotus.com/.