The bursting of the dot-com bubbles have spawned several
articles and commentaries regarding the demise of Application Service Providers (ASPs).
However, to say that ASPs will go the way of the dinosaurs may be presumptuous.
As reflected in an IDC report, the ASPs growth is inevitable in the new
economy. In a latest research report released by IDC, it is predicted that the
ASP market will grow to US$7.8 billion by 2004 from US$298 million in 1999.
In a recent report, Gartner predicated that 60 per cent of all ASPs will no longer
exist by 2001. This prediction is not entirely new because we all know that in the brick and mortar world, only 1 or 2 new business ventures out of
every 10 will survive. ASPs are no different from any other business ventures,
hence the statistic applies.
The key question then, is who will be the global ASP of the future, and when
can we expect so see this happening?
Successful global ASPs will have a couple of things in common:
- Products and/or services that allow companies and individuals to do things
better than the old way.
- A strong Internet based customer relationship - personalized and customized
with active dialogue and interaction.
- Global Accessibility - anywhere, anytime and any mean (WAP, email, phone,
call centres, etc).
- Strong alliances with other members of the interconnecting e-community.
- Internal corporate culture of continuous enhancements, improvements and
innovations.
The list is not exhaustive but I believe these are the top five success
factors for any ASPs or dot-coms. ASPs who are able to deliver on all the 5
counts will prevail.