Register your product to gain access to bonus material or receive a coupon.
Application Service Providers (ASPs): A Manager's Guide
- By John Harney
- Published Nov 19, 2001 by Addison-Wesley Professional. Part of the Addison-Wesley Information Technology Series series.
Book
- Sorry, this book is no longer in print.
Description
- Copyright 2002
- Dimensions: 7-3/8" x 9-1/4"
- Pages: 336
- Edition: 1st
- Book
- ISBN-10: 0-201-72659-9
- ISBN-13: 978-0-201-72659-6
The benefits of working with Application Service Providers (ASPs) can be compelling -- faster rollouts, lower costs, less time spent on implementation and maintenance, and a greater opportunity to focus on your organization's core competencies. Unfortunately, the risks of ASP relationships are far from insignificant. In this book, the President of ASPWatch shows IT managers exactly how to navigate the risks, and use ASPs for maximum competitive advantage. John Harney presents a complete roadmap for any IT decision-maker considering outsourcing to ASPs. He offers expert guidance for answering questions like: What costs are involved? How secure and viable is your ASP? How do you choose the right ASP? You'll learn practical criteria for identifying possible ASP partners; choosing amongst ostensibly similar ASPs; evaluating services, performance, and ROI; and negotiating service level agreements that meet your business requirements. For everyone considering or using Application Service Providers, including IT executives and managers, line-of-business managers, Web and e-business professionals, and consultants.
Extras
Related Articles
25 Customer Service And Technical Support Issues To Address When Hiring An ASP
The 10 Most Important Issues To Address When Hiring An ASP
Which ASPs Will Prosper Long-Term — and Why?
xSPs -- Supporting Service Providers For ASPs
Sample Content
Online Sample Chapter
ASP Customer Service and Technical Support
Downloadable Sample Chapter
Click below for Sample Chapter related to this title:
harneych10.pdf
Table of Contents
Preface.
Acknowledgments.
1. The Tangled Roots of the ASP Phenomenon.
New Technology.
New Network.
New Implementation Model.
New Network Outsourcing Model.
New Competition.
New Mergers and Acquisitions.
New Alliances.
New Value Proposition.
New Industry.
Key Concepts.
2. The ASP Coalition-No Single Vendor Can Do It All.
The ASP Hardware.
The Hardware Platform Components.
The Key Characteristics of ASP Hardware.
Types of ASP Hardware Providers.
The ASP Network.
The Network Platform Components.
The Key Characteristics of an ASP Network.
Types of ASP Network Providers.
The ASP Software.
The ASP Software Components.
The Key Characteristics of ASP Software.
Types of ASP Software Providers.
ASP Market and Application Expertise.
Infrastructure Service Providers.
ASP-Enabling Software Platforms.
Value-Added Services.
Key Concepts.
3. The ASP Hardware Platform.
Hardware Components.
Hardware Provisioning.
Server Clustering.
Load Balancing.
Web Server Caching.
Characteristics of ASP Servers.
Key Concepts.
4. The Data Center.
Availability.
Data Backup.
Natural Disasters.
Responsiveness.
Updating and Testing Disaster Recovery Plans.
ASP Partner and Alternate Site Backup.
Environmental Control.
Key Concepts.
5. The ASP Network.
The ASP Network-An Overview.
Access-ASP to Broadband WAN.
The Broadband WAN.
Frame Relay.
ATM.
ATM and Frame Relay Interworking.
WDM.
Access-Broadband WAN to Customer.
The Local Loop-ISDN, xDSL, and Cable Modems.
Wireless.
IP.
Key Concepts.
6. Varieties of ASP.
Pure-Play ASPs.
FSPs.
VAR ASPs.
Service Bureau ASPs.
SI ASPs.
ISV ASPs.
Related Service Providers.
Key Concepts.
7. Security Issues for ASPs.
Determining Your Security Risks.
Types of Security Risk.
Security Techniques.
Authentication.
Encryption.
Access Control.
Integrity.
Confidentiality.
Audit and Accounting.
Security Equipment.
Routers.
Firewalls.
Proxy Servers.
Customer Requirements and ASP Strategy.
Appropriate Security.
Prioritizing Security Threats.
Security Tiers.
Security Policies.
Different Rules for Different Users.
Types of Confidentiality.
Security Audits.
Physical Security.
Key Concepts.
8. ASP Service-Level Agreements.
The Network SLA.
Network Availability.
Network Throughput.
Network Redundancy.
Network Equipment.
Network Scalability.
Network Peering Arrangements.
Network Delay.
Network Service-Level Corroboration.
Network Reporting.
Network Provisioning.
Network Support.
Planned Network Outages.
Unplanned Network Outages.
The Application SLA.
Application Availability.
Application Performance.
Application Redundancy.
Application Platform.
Application Scalability.
Application Security.
Customer Application Administration.
Application Monitoring.
Application Service-Level Corroboration.
Application Reporting.
Application Provisioning.
Application Support.
Planned Application Outages.
Unplanned Application Outages.
General Practices.
Key Concepts.
9. ASP Pricing Models.
The Major Types of Pricing Models.
Other Fees.
Real-World Examples of ASP Pricing Models.
Key Concepts.
10. ASP Customer Service and Technical Support.
Up-Front Customer Service.
Hosted Application Implementation.
Client Preparation.
Customization.
User Policies.
Data Conversion.
Testing and Quality Assurance.
Training.
Going Live.
Routine Maintenance and Upgrades.
Technical Support.
Monitoring and Reporting.
Call Centers.
Billing and Mediation.
General Expectations.
Key Concepts.
11. Enabling Technologies for ASPs.
Virtual Private Networks.
Different Types of VPNs.
Value-Added Characteristics of Different Providers' VPNs.
Networked Storage.
Storage Area Networks.
SANs' Value Proposition.
Network Attached Storage.
SAN + NAS + HSM.
Why Lease Networked Storage from an ASP?
Enterprise Portal Interfaces.
Wireless.
M-commerce.
WASPs.
Key Concepts.
12. The ASP Channel.
The Double Channel.
SI ASP Strategies.
Hardware Vendor ASP Strategies.
ISV ASP Strategies.
Rebranding and the Value-Added Channel.
ASP Channel Winners and Losers.
Key Concepts.
13. What's Ahead for ASPs?
The Data Center of the Future.
Wide Area Storage.
The Coming Value-Added Internet.
The Microsoft Factor.
Tribal Commerce within ASP Conglomerate Communities.
Winning and Losing ASP Strategies.
The Human Factor.
Key Concepts.
Appendix A: Guide to Location of ASP Case Studies in Different Chapters.
Appendix B: xSPs (ASP-Enabling Companies).
Appendix C: Selected ASPs in Major Vertical Markets.
Appendix D: Selected ASPs Offering Major Types of Hosted Applications.
Appendix E: Defining Your Low-Level ASP Requirements.
Appendix F: ASP Organizations and Publications.
Bibliography.
Glossary.
Index. 0201726599T10242001
Preface
I first heard about Application Service Providers (ASP) about three years ago from Marty Gruhn at Summit Strategies. I think I was doing an article on e-business, and she suggested I look into the value proposition of what she called Internet Application Hosting. She was hot on IAH—one of the few people who really were—and thought they would dramatically change the face of corporate computing. I followed her advice, and found ASPs so compelling that I started researching and writing compulsively about any ASP-related operations. Then ASPs and ASP-wannabes started seeing my articles and, of all things, began calling me for advice. This was a wonderful thing because I actually got to visit some data centers and talk shop with the people in the trenches.
When I was an editor of several computing magazines, software companies would bring their new programs to the magazine offices and demo them for me. That was a great part of the job because we would often actually brainstorm problems they were having like pricing strategies, the right target customer, competition and so on. With ASP hosted applications, I could actually access the application right over my Internet connection—the techies just needed to give me a user ID. Later I could go out to the data center and see the "backend" of the operation—data center, network, security, storage and so on. Very impressive—like going to the Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian.
At the time there were only about 50 ASPs out there, the press had not become obsessed with covering the phenomenon and there were no formal organizations whatever devoted to ASPs. Indeed, many ASPs were glad for any kind of validation, guidance and marketing exposure.
By my own informal estimate, there are now between 1000 and 1500 ASP-related businesses (called xSPs in the argot of the industry) out there, and it seems several new ones turn up every week. By any measure, the overnight explosion of the ASP industry is unprecedented. But what is unusual about it is that the numerical proliferation of ASPs is also complemented by their prolific diversification. ASPs already serve most vertical markets like finance, manufacturing and health care with most major enterprise applications like e-commerce, ERP and CRM, sales automation and collaboration. They also offer a full spectrum of IT platforms and networks. Usually a new technology approach penetrates one or two vertical markets and, once established, then migrates to other markets that are most similar to those already conquered. ASPs, like other generically horizontal "consumer-oriented" technologies such as PCs and mobile phones, is inherently more democratic.
ASPs’ more democratic approach—the diversity of market focus and freedom of opportunity in the industry—might be its greatest strength. As yet, there is no 800-pound gorilla that can scoop up any promising new ASP and incorporate its winning tools and methods into its competitive arsenal. The industry is still pretty wide open—a good idea executed well can go far. But that democratic approach might also be the industry’s greatest weakness—anyone with an idea and some money can launch an ASP. The upside of such a situation is that it fosters a boom in all manner of providers. So customer organizations of all sizes in different markets can now take advantage of a truly virtual computing paradigm that cuts their costs and risks and lets them exploit powerful applications that many could not afford as installed solutions. The downside is that, because anyone can play in this game, some amateurs stumble into the fray, try to get rich quick, fail and disappoint their customers.
Because ASPs received the unavoidable hype attendant on such accelerated growth, some entrepreneurs looking for quick profits launched ASPs with business plans that proved—or will prove untenable. By my own informal count, maybe 10 to 20 ASPs have gone under for various reasons like poor business plans, dried-up funding, a bad economy and increased competition. In the wake of 2000’s dotcom flameouts on NASDAQ, any new virtual e-business plan is receiving exasperatingly close scrutiny by venture capitalists. The same goes for new e-business ventures looking for stockholders at IPO time. And computing analysts and press tend, sometimes, to focus on the dramatic disaster—because it makes for a good story— than the relatively unexciting success—even though it makes for happy customers. The result is that the same media overexposure and vendor hype that unrealistically inflated customer and investor expectations for ASPs may now have unrealistically deflated them.
I have followed IT segments like imaging/workflow, document management, knowledge management, wireless Internet access, videoconferencing, PDAs, ATM and others where the major players have not shown a profit for five years or more and whose stock performance has been dismal. But, when the market caught up with them, they could hardly handle all the business coming their way.
I cannot emphasize this enough—such is the nature of a new IT market. Experts have documented that markets go through phases as they mature—they are born, proliferate, consolidate and stratify into leaders and laggards. The ASP market is not even three years old —it has not even finished the proliferation phase. It will inevitably consolidate and stratify into established major players and many other niche ones. In the meantime, do the math—of 1000 to 1500 existing ASPs, under 20 have had problems. In my view, that’s an incredible success rate. Indeed, compared to the average recent success rate of small businesses in the U.S.—about half fail—it’s phenomenal.
Keep your eye on the long-term perspective. Gartner Group estimates that worldwide revenues of ASPs will be $25.3 billion in 2004. Meanwhile, IDC predicts worldwide revenues for the xSP market (ASPs, MSPs, MsecPs, etc.) will quadruple from $106 billion in 2000 to more than $460 billion in 2005.
The mainstreaming of virtual computing is inevitable. As the ASP industry matures, market caps will boom, major players will buy smaller niche players, financially unstable players will go out of business or get acquired, and the industry will settle into the approximate form it will maintain for many years after. In the meantime, the challenging "pull" for you, the customer, is finding a solid ASP that will give you a good deal now and be around in five years. While the competitive "push" for you is choosing a viable ASP before your competition does and undercuts your value proposition by doing things like saving lots of money on hosted IT services and getting to market faster. This is particularly true for Small-to-Medium-Size Businesses (SMBs), many of whom till now could not afford any expensive installed enterprise systems like ERP and therefore competed at a disadvantage with Global 2000 firms that could.
As with any new product, customers must perform due diligence when engaging an unknown vendor. I wrote this book to guide you through the process. I have purposely skirted granular current events like the stock performance of individual ASPs. I believe increased competition, the Darwinistic thinning of the ASP herd, and the inevitable merger and acquisition activity of major information technology and telecom vendors like Microsoft and AT&T with complementary ASPs who need cash will strengthen the ASP brand. If the big boys are smart, they’ll let their new partners do what they do best—innovate. If individual ASPs are smart, they won’t be unrealistically stubborn idealists and risk their customers’ and stockholders’ financial welfare by remaining independents with unstable cashflow. That said, I think your best buying strategy now is diligently educating yourself about ASPs’ business strategy and technology infrastructure and intelligently and exhaustively evaluating ASP candidates so you engage an ASP whose services best match your requirements and whose long-term success is most likely.
If I had to choose fundamental criteria for an ASP’s success, they would be solid management, mastery of the technology and a respectable client base. At this early stage of the industry, profitability —while important—is of secondary importance to number of clients. If an ASP has oversold itself to win clients, then its references will tell the story. Whereas numerous satisfied clients translate to cashflow now— the number one preoccupation of any new business—and profitability and solid stock valuation later.
With that in mind, this book is written for C-Level executives and managers who are considering leasing hosted services from an ASP. It introduces you to the telecom and computing climate and players that spawned the ASP movement, explains the ASP business model, and tells you in pretty fine detail what technology, security, service level conditions and customer service and tech support you should require of an ASP. I also define, and provide examples of, different types of ASPs—like Pure Play ASPs and Full Service Providers—as well as xSPs—like Infrastructure Service Providers and Management Service Providers—whose services might best suit you. I also explain the various pricing models of ASPs and suggest which ones are best for certain types of organizations according to the activities they will be performing. And I discuss the ramifications of ASPs on the traditional IT reseller channel as well as explain the new channel that ASPs offer as an alternative. I also make some educated guesses about winning and losing ASP strategies and about business and IT trends that will affect the ASP industry in the next few years.
That’s in the chapters themselves. The Appendices offer selected ASPs that I’ve organized according to what kind of xSP they are, what vertical markets they serve and what applications they host. I’ve also included a list of ASP organizations and publications that host exhaustive ASP Directories and offer current news and analysis as well as invaluable information about standards and the ASP state-of-the-art.
I would also implore you to address the pertinent questions in Appendix E, Defining Your ASP Requirements. I created these questions as a checklist you can go through with your ASP candidates to guarantee that the ASP hosted applications you will lease—as well as things like value-added services—are exactly what you need at the price you want to pay. But they also are designed to get the ASP to open up about its business partners, market strategy, channel development and other factors that will ensure their long-term success.
In fact, if I were consulting for a client who wanted to hire an ASP, I would suggest the decision-makers use the book in the following way. First, read Chapters 1-13 to make sure you understand your ASP candidates’ market positioning, ASP or xSP Type, Price Model and so on. Once you understand the industry terms, baseline features and functions and competition, you can intelligently assess each ASP’s value proposition and comparatively shop among various candidates. Next, peruse the appendices of ASPs by type, application and market. I selected these ASPs because they had a certain visibility and geographic diversity, but that is my only bias. This will give you a few vendors to call to get your feet wet. Then I’d suggest you look through the ASP directories at the various organizations and portals I list in the appendix on ASP organizations and publications. These offer an array of ASPs of every stripe that you can research to your heart’s content. I have a similar database of ASPs culled from numerous sources, so contact me if you like. Finally, go through the pertinent questions in Defining Your ASP Requirements with your top ASP candidates. This is the most important step in your selection process because at least 95% of anything you need to know about a potential ASP partner will be elicited from them by asking these questions. What you don’t know you don’t know usually comes back to haunt you later—that’s why I’ve been so comprehensive in creating this checklist.
It’s been my experience that, when a buying team uses such a methodology, it becomes very clear very quickly which candidates are untenable. Your only problem then will be how to choose the best of the best. I think you’ll agree that getting to face that dilemma is worth the price of the book. I wish you the best of luck.
0201726599P07062001
Index
AboveNet, 218
Access control, 106, 108–109, 115, 118
Accounting,
110
Achieve Online Services (AOS), 94–95, 231
Acquisition,
innovation by, 11, 214, 224
ADSL Lite (G.Lite), 72–73
Advanced
Encryption Standard (AES), 108
Agiliti, 94–95, 231
Aguiar, Eric,
156
Alliances, Telecom service provider, 10–11
Alternate site
testing, 56
Application expertise,
24–27
Applications
horizontal productivity,
227
implementation of,
152–153
security of,
135–136
user policies on,
159–160
Application servers, 16, 36
Application service provider
(ASP), 1–14
alliances and,
10–11
competition and,
7–9
defining requirements for,
245–270
ASP varieties,
251–254
channels,
269–270
coalition,
245–246
customer
service and technical support,
262–266
data center,
247–249
enabling
technologies,
266–269
future of,
270–271
hardware
platform,
246–247
network,
249–251
pricing models,
261–262
security,
254–257
service level
agreements, 257–260
ecosystems,
100–101
enabling technologies. See Enabling
technologies
implementation model that prepared the
way for, 4–5
industry growth,
13
in major vertical markets,
235–238
market for,
xv
mergers and acquisitions and,
9–10
network infrastructure that prepared the
way for, 3–4
new value proposition and,
11–13
offering major types of hosted
applications, 239–244
organizations and
publications, 273
outsourcing model that prepared the
way for, 5–7
Application SLA, 125, 126, 127, 134–137
ASP
application aggregators (AAA), 91–93, 209
ASP coalition. See
Coalitions
Asymmetric DSL (ADSL), 72–73
Asynchronous transfer mode
(ATM), 4, 20, 75
Frame Relay interworking,
68–69
traffic management and shaping,
67–68
WANs based on, 64, 65–69
AT&T,
22, 218
Audits, 110, 117
Authentication,
106–107
user-level, 173–174
Automated
disaster recovery test, 56
Availability,
52
application, 134
of
data center, 48
network, 127–128
B2B
environment
enterprise portals in, 184, 185,
222–223
virtual trade exchanges in, 222,
223
Background checks, 117
Backup and recovery, 48–51, 52,
118
Bandwidth
ASPs’ need for,
61
Internet’s shortage of, 2, 3
Battenberg,
Jim, 133
Billing, 165–166
Biometric recognition system,
118
Brick-and-mortar (BAM) companies, 8, 197
Bridge, 69
Broadband
networking, 3, 18
Business impact analysis, 50
Business model, 16,
139–140
Business service provider (BSP), 101
Cable modems,
72
Caching
data,
113
web server, 40
Call centers, 150, 151,
164–165, 167–168
Capacity, network, 20–21, 62
Capacity
on demand (hardware), 42
Carepanion e-Commerce System,
155–159
CareTouch, Inc., 154–159, 232
Categories of ASPs,
79–80. See also specific types
Categories of service, 66
CD-R,
176
Cell, 186
Cell relay, 65–66
Channel (reseller),
195–211
alternate ASP,
198
consolidation of, 196–197,
210–211
defining requirements for,
269–270
“direct ship” phenomenon,
195–196, 208
double ASP,
198–202
“first-string,”
209–210
hardware vendor ASP strategies,
205–207
high-margin/recurring revenue dilemma,
199
ISV ASP strategies,
207–209
rebranding and,
209–210
SI ASP strategies,
202–205
tech/touch dilemma,
199
traditional,
196
value-added,
209–210
winners and losers in,
210–211
Checksums, 106
Cisco, 214
Clients, preparation of,
153
Clustering, value-added, 44
Coalitions, 7,
15–33
ASP-enabling software platforms,
31
defining requirements for,
245–246
hardware
characteristics
of, 17
platform,
15–18
provider types,
18
infrastructure service providers, 27–31,
32
market and application expertise,
24–27
networks,
18–23
characteristics
of, 19–22
platform
components,
18–19
providers,
22–23
software,
23–24
value-added services,
31–33
Commerce
community-based,
185
tribal, 222–227, 228
Commerce service
provider (CSP), 101
Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA),
221
Community-based commerce, 185
Compaq, 206
Competitive local
exchange carriers (CLECs), 3, 5–7, 10, 18, 22, 210
Compression, data,
175
Concentric outsourcing, 7, 22
Confidentiality, 106, 110,
114
data, 38
types of,
116–117
Conglomerate communities, 222–227,
228
ConnectSite.com, 208
Consolidation, ASP industry,
214–215
Continuity, Inc., 29–31, 231
Conversion, data,
160
“Coopetition,” 11
Copper wire transmission, 70
Corio,
Inc., 26–27, 121–122, 231, 232
Corroboration
network service-level, 130,
application service level, 136
Critical
Technologies/FilesOnTheNet.com, 88–90, 231
Customer network link to
WANs, 71
Customer application administration, 136
Customer relationship
management (CRM), 7–8, 80, 166–167
Customer service, 80,
149–170. See also Technical support
application
implementation, 152–153
client preparation,
153
customer relationship management (CRM),
7–8, 80, 166–167
customization, 152,
153–154
data conversion,
160
defining requirements for,
262–266
general expectations,
166–169
going live,
162
maintenance and upgrades,
162–163
outsourcing of,
151
platform preparation,
153
system sizing,
152–153
testing and quality assurance (QA),
161
tiered, 168
training,
161–162
up-front,
151–152
user policies,
159–160
virtual, 150, 168
Customization of
hosted -service, 152, 153–154
Custom pricing examples,
146–148
Data
backup and recovery of,
48–51, 52, 118
cached,
113
eradication of old,
110
integrity of, 109,
114
mirroring of,
50
security
issues
risks,
50
theft of, 106,
114–115
VPN and,
173–174
theft of, 106
Database servers, 16,
36
Data centers, 19, 42, 47–57
alternate
site backup, 56–57
availability of,
48
backup and recovery, 48–51,
52
defining requirements for,
247–249
disaster recovery plans,
55–56
environmental control,
57
future,
216–217
natural disasters and,
51–52
responsiveness of,
52–55
DataCert.com, Inc., 131–134, 232
Data compression,
175
Data confidentiality, 38
Data conversion, 160
Data encryption
standard (DES), 108
DataQuest, 181
Dedicated provisioning,
36–37
Delay, network, 130
Dell Computers, 196
Denial of service,
106
Denial-of-service attack, 114
Dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM),
3, 70–71, 75, 217
Digex, Inc., 18, 29–31, 231
Digital
signaling rate, 62
Digital signatures, 110
Digital subscriber line (xDSL),
3, 72–73
Digital virtual display (DVD), 176
Direct-access storage
device (DASD), 176–177
“Direct ship” phenomenon,
195–196, 208
Disaster planning, 118
updating
and testing recovery plans, 55–56
Disasters, natural,
51–52
Disaster Recovery Tests, types of,
55–56
“Disruptive” technology breakthroughs, 1,
213
Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM), 221
Documentum, 98,
208
Dornadula, Prasuna, 155–156, 158
Dotcom companies, 8–9,
11–12, 197, 214
e-business infrastructures for,
228
Double channel, ASP, 198–202
Downlink, 186
E1 lines,
62
E3 lines, 62
Earthquake protection, 57
eBay, 190–192,
232
Ecosystems, ASP, 100–101
80% application services,
23
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), 132
e-mail, outsourcing to ASPs,
183
viruses in attachments, 109
Enabling
technologies, 2–3, 171–193
defining
requirements for, 266–269
encryption,
107–108,
173–174
firewall-based,
174
PC-based,
174
router-based,
174
enterprise portal interfaces,
184–185
networked storage,
176–184
network-attached
storage (NAS), 177,
179–180
providers of,
181–184
reasons for
leasing, 180–181
SAN +
NAS + HSM, 180
SANs’
value proposition,
178–179
storage area
networks (SANs), 3, 39, 42, 177–178
virtual
private networks (VPNs), 2, 23, 75,
171–175
types of,
173–175
value-added
characteristics of providers of,
175
VPN-specific boxes,
175
wireless, 4,
186–192
analog,
186
digital,
186
SSPs and,
183
third-generation (3G),
187–188
WASPs (wireless
ASPs), 188–190
Wireless
Access Protocol (WAP), 187–188
Encryption, 107–108,
173–174
firewall-based,
174
PC-based, 174
private
key, 108
public key, 107–108, 109,
110
router-based, 174
End-to-end SLA, 126,
127
Enterprise information portals, 184–185,
222–223
Enterprise JavaBeans, 206–207
Enterprise portal
interfaces, 184–185, 222–223
Enterprise resource planning (ERP),
7–8, 80, 143, 145, 160, 201–202. 204–205,
207–209
Entitlement management system (EMS), 122
Environmental
control, 57
Equipment, network, 128–130
Elfman, Eric,
133
“e-sourcing,” 12
Ethernet, 65
Fast packet-switching
technology, 64–65
Fiber optic network, 70, 175
Fiber-channel
network, 177–178, 180, 182, 184
Financial organizations, security
concerns of, 115
Fire suppression, waterless, 57
Firewall-based
encryption, 174
Firewalls, 111–113
“First-string” ASP
channel, 209–210
Flat/flat pricing, 140, 141, 143, 144
Flat/tiered
pricing, 140, 141, 142, 143, 145–146
Frame Relay, 64–65,
68–69
Full service providers (FSPs), 82–84, 228
Future for
ASPs, 213–230
data centers,
216–217
defining requirements for,
270–271
human factor,
228–230
industry maturation dynamic and,
213–216
Microsoft’s impact on,
219–222
tribal commerce within ASP conglomerate
communities, 222–227, 228
value-added Internet,
218–219
wide area storage,
217–218
winning and losing ASP strategies,
227–228
G.Lite (ADSL Lite), 72–73
G2000 companies, 8, 9,
183
tribal commerce and, 226
Gateways,
69
Generic application services, 23
Geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO)
satellites, 186, 187
Glossary, 275–287
Hackers, 106
Handoff
(wireless), 186
Hardware, 35–45. See also
Servers
characteristics of,
17
components, 36
defining
requirements for, 246–247
load-balancing, 40,
41
platform,
15–18
provider types,
18
provisioning,
36–38
server clustering,
38–39
Hardware vendor(s)
ASP play by,
98
channel strategies of, 205–207
Harris,
Bob, 94
Healthcare industry, 154–159
Hewlett-Packard, 18, 98,
207
Hierarchical storage management (HSM), 176, 180,
182
High-margin/recurring revenue dilemma, 199
HomeBanc, 200–202,
232
Hosted Applications Development Community and ASP Certification Program
(Microsoft), 221
Hosting SLA, 125, 126, 127
Human factor in ASPs’
future, 228–230
IBM, 18, 206–207, 219
IBM Global Services,
154–159, 232
Independent Software Vendor (ISV),
84–85
ASP variety and,
87–91
Independent Software Vendor (ISV) ASPs, 98–101,
131–134
channel strategies of,
207–209
Infrastructure service providers, 27–31, 32, 209,
228
Initial Public Offering (IPO) valuations, 214
Innovation by
acquisition, 11, 214, 224
Integrators, 196–200
Integrity, data and
application, 106, 109, 114
Intelligent load-balancing software, 40,
41
Interliant, Inc., 131–134, 232
International exchange carriers
(IXCs), 3, 5–7, 10, 18, 22
Internet, value-added,
218–219
Internet service providers (ISPs), 3, 6, 10, 22,
210
Interstellar Outfitters (fictional e-commerce company),
216–217
Interworking (network), 67, 68–69
Intrusion detection
software, 110
IP, 74–75
ISDN, 71–72
J.D. Edwards,
204–205
J.R. Abbott Construction, 204–205, 232
Jasper Design,
156
Java, 2
Juhn, Peter, 155, 158–159
Kaiser Permanente,
154
KPMG, 100
Label-based switching (MPLS), 219
Latency (in
wireless networks), 73–74
Lawson Financials package, 201
Leasing
rates, 139–148
custom pricing examples,
146–148
flat/flat, 140, 141, 143,
144
flat/tiered, 140, 141, 142, 143,
145–146
issues addressed in,
140
other fees,
143–144
per-click, 141, 142–143, 145,
146, 166
real-world examples of,
144–148
variable/tiered, 141, 142, 143,
166
Level3, 208
Life care industry, 154–159
Load
balancing
network,
62
packages for, 40,
41
Web server, 53
Local area network (LAN),
19
ASP server connections through, 60
Local loop,
60, 71–73
Logical functionality, 16–17
Logs, security,
117
Lotus, 98, 207
Low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, 186, 187
Loyola
University, 88–90
Lucas, Jeff, 156
Lucent Technologies Worldwide
Services, 54–55, 231
Madeiros, Todd, 191
Maintenance (and
routine upgrades), 162–163
Managed Security Providers (MSecPs),
119–122, 126, 228
Management policies for backup and recovery,
50
Management service providers (MSPs), 53, 126,
228
“Man-in-the-middle” security breaches, 109
Market
evolution, 215–216
Market expertise, 24–27
Massive scalability
(of ASP hardware), 17
Maturation dynamic in ASP industry,
213–216
m-commerce, 188
Mediation (billing and),
165–166
Mergers and acquisitions, 9–10
Microsoft, 207,
219–222
Microsoft Network (MSN) Explorer, 220
Microsoft Visual
Studio.NET, 220
Middleware, 23
Mirroring, data, 50
Mobile broadband
wireless Internet access (m-commerce), 188
Mobile devices, 73. See also
Wireless -technology
Modems, cable, 72
Monitoring (and reporting),
163–164
of application,
136
of network, 130
Multiprotocol label switching
(MPLS), 219
Natural disasters, 51–52
NaviSite, 54–55,
231
“near sourced”, 5
netASPx, 200–202,
232
Netegrity, Inc., 121–122, 232
Network(s), 3–4,
18–23, 59–77. See also Local area network (LAN); Virtual private
networks (VPNs); Wide area networks
(WANs)
characteristics of,
19–22
customer LAN-to-WAN -section of,
71
data center LAN-to-WAN section of,
60–63
defining requirements for,
249–251
fiber optic, 70,
177–178
IP,
74–75
load balancing of,
62
local loop, 60,
71–73
overview,
60
platform components,
18–19
providers,
22–23
service level agreement,
125–134
wireless, 73–74,
186–192
Networked storage,
176–184
network-attached storage (NAS), 177,
179–180
providers of,
181–184
reasons for leasing,
180–181
SAN + NAS + HSM,
180
storage area networks (SANs), 3, 39, 42,
177–178
value
proposition of,
178–179
“WAN-ing”
of, 217–218
Network-level firewalls, 111–112
Network capacity,
20–21, 61
Network peering arrangements, 130
Network quality of
service, 21, 66
Network reliability, 19–20
Network scalability,
21
Network service providers, 22–23
Nonrepudiation, 110
Open
Text, 100, 208
Operating systems, 23
Optical storage,
176–177
Oracle, 98, 207, 219
Organizations, ASP,
273
Outages
application (planned and unplanned),
137
network (planned and unplanned),
131
Outsourcing
concentric, 7,
22
of customer service,
151
of e-mail, 183
as
model for ASP, 5–7
“Overhead” information in -network data
packets, 64
Packet switching, 64–65
cell
relay, 65–66
Partner coalitions, 7
Passwords, 107
Peering
network, 130, 218
Per-click pricing, 141, 142–143, 145, 146,
166
Performance, 129
of application,
135
Permanent virtual circuits (PVCs),
64–65
Personnel
background checks on,
117
security, 118
Physical security,
118
Platform of application, 135
Portal interfaces, enterprise,
184–185
Pricing
custom (examples of),
146–148
defining requirements for,
261–262
usage-based, 165–166
Pricing
models
flat/flat, 140, 141, 143,
144
flat/tiered, 140, 141, 142, 143,
145–146
per-click, 141, 142–143, 145,
146, 166
variable/tiered, 141, 142, 143,
166
Private key encryption,
108
Provisioning
application,
136
hardware,
36–38
network, 131
Proxy servers,
113
Publications, ASP, 273
Public key encryption, 107–108, 109,
110
Pure-play ASPs, 81–82, 121–122
Quality assurance (QA),
161
Quality of service, 66
Qwest, 98, 207, 218
Rebranding, and the
ASP channel, 209–210
Recovery, data, 48–51, 52
Recovery Time
Objectives (RTOs), 47, 50
Redundancy
of
application, 135
in environmental control,
57
network, 54, 128
Redundant Array of Inexpensive
Disks (RAID), 177
Regional ASPs, 227
Regional bell operating carriers
(RBOCs), 3, 5–7, 10, 18, 22
Reliability, network,
19–20
Repeatable solutions, 4–5, 12
Reporting, monitoring and,
163–164
application,
136
network, 130
Requirements for ASP, defining,
245–270
ASP varieties,
251–254
channels,
269–270
coalition,
245–246
customer service and technical support,
262–266
data center,
247–249
enabling technologies,
266–269
future,
270–271
hardware platform,
246–247
network,
249–251
pricing models,
261–262
security,
254–257
service level agreements,
257–260
Responsiveness of data center, 52–55
Risks,
security
determining,
104–105
types of, 105–106
Roaming
(wireless), 186
Robustness of hardware, 17
Rolling upgrade,
42
Router-based encryption, 174
Routers, 69, 111
Routing equipment,
69
SAP, 98, 101
Satellites,
186–187
Scalability
of application,
135
capacity on demand and,
42
expandability and,
42
of hardware, 17
of
network, 21, 130
of software,
24
of stand-alone vs. clustered servers,
38–39
of Windows 2000, 216–217
Secret
key security techniques, 108
Security, 103–123,
129
access control, 106, 108–109, 115,
118
of application,
135–136
appropriate,
114–115
auditing and accounting,
110
audits,
117
authentication,
106–107
user-level,
173–174
background checks,
117
charges for,
144
confidentiality, 106, 110,
114
data,
38
types of,
116–117
customer responsibility for,
104
data,
38
risks,
50
theft of, 106,
114–115
VPN,
173–174
defining requirements for,
254–257
encryption, 107–108,
173–174
firewall-based,
174
PC-based,
174
private key,
108
public key,
107–108, 109,
110
router-based,
174
in financial organizations,
115
firewalls,
111–113
integrity, 106, 109,
114
Internet, 2
Managed
Security Providers (MSecPs), 119–122, 126,
228
physical,
118
policies,
116–117
proxy servers,
113
risks
determining,
104–105
types of,
105–106
routers,
111
in small to medium-size businesses,
115
tiers of, 115–116
Security logs,
117
Server farms, 98
Servers
ASP, 16–17,
36
characteristics of,
41–44
clustering of,
38–39
flexibility and
expandibility of, 42
LAN
connection to,
60
provisioning of,
36–38
proxy, 113
Service bureau ASPs,
86–95
Service level agreement (SLA), 56,
125–138
application, 125, 126, 127,
134–137
component services addressed by,
125
defined, 125
defining
requirements for, 257–260
end-to-end, 126,
127
general practices,
137
hosting, 125, 126,
127
network, 125–134
Service-level
corroboration
application,
136
network, 130
Service
providers(s)
commerce (CSP),
101
full (FSPs), 82–84,
228
hardware,
18
infrastructure, 27-–31, 32, 209,
228
ISPs, 3, 6, 10, 22,
210
Managed Security (MSecPs), 119–122, 126,
228
Management (MSPs), 53, 126,
228
storage,
181–184
network,
20–21
Setup fee, 143
ShareDoc/LEGAL, 132
Shared provisioning,
36–38
Signatures, digital, 110
Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP),
221
SiteMinder, 121–122
Sizing of system, 152–153
Small
office home office (SOHO), access to ASP WAN, 71
Small to medium-size
businesses (SMBs), 4, 7–8, 11
access to ASP
WAN, 71
competition faced by,
8–9
data conversion needs of,
160
double channel and,
199
Microsoft’s focus on,
220
security concerns of,
115
SI ASPs and, 228
SSP
use by, 182–183
Smith, Eric, 133
Software,
23–24
ASP-enabling platforms, 31
Solbakken,
Art, 204–205
Solution centers, 4–5
SONET, 63
Staff
dependencies on backup and recovery, 50
Stand-alone servers,
38–39
Storage. See also Networked
storage
charges for,
143
wide area, 217–218
Storage area networks
(SANs), 3, 39, 42, 177–178
combined with NAS
and HSM, 180
value proposition of,
178–179
“WAN-ing” of,
217–218
Storage centers, 182
Storage Networks, 217
Storage
service providers (SSPs), 181–184
Sun Microsystems, 3, 98, 206,
219
Support. See also also Customer service; Technical
support
application,
137
network, 131
Switched virtual circuit (SVC),
65
Switches, 69
Switching, label-based, 219
Systems integrators (SIs),
22, 23, 24
Systems integrator (SI) ASPs,
95–98
channel strategies of,
202–205
small to medium-size businesses (SMBs)
and, 228
System sizing, 152–153
T1 lines, 62, 71
T3 lines,
62
Tabletop tests disaster planning, 56
T carrier leased lines,
62
Technical support, 163–166. See also Customer
service
billing and mediation,
165–166
call centers, 150, 151, 164–165,
167–168
complexity of,
150–151
defining requirements for,
262–266
monitoring and reporting,
163–164
virtual, 150, 168
Technology
Services Group, 208
Tech/touch dilemma, 199
Telecom companies (as network
service providers), 22–23
Telecommuters, 71–72
Testing
environments for hosting applications, 161
Theft, data, 106,
114–115
Thin client computing model, 219
Three-tier computing
architecture, 36
Throughput, network, 128, 129–130
Thunderstorms,
data and, 51
Tiered customer service, 168
Timing out computer sessions due
to inactivity, 107
Token Ring, 65
Trade exchanges, virtual, 222,
223
Traffic management and shaping, ATM, 67–68
Training,
161–162
Train-the-trainer strategies, 161–162
Transactions,
virtual, 53
Tribal commerce, 222–227, 228
TripleDES, 108
Trusted
business advisors (TBAs), 25
2Roam, 190–192, 232
Unisys,
216–217
Upgrade, rolling, 42
Upgrades (and routine maintenance),
162–163
Uplink (wireless), 186
Usage-based pricing models,
165–166
Usage tracking, 166
User ID, 106–107,
109
User-level authentication, 173–174
User policies,
159–160
Value-added channel -(partners),
209–210
Value-added clustering, 44
Value-added resellers (VARs), 4,
196–197, 199
Value-added reseller (VAR) ASPs,
84–86
Value-added services,
31–33
pure-plays and,
82
SI ASPs and, 96
FSPs
and, 82–84
Variable/tiered pricing, 141, 142, 143, 166
Vertical ASPs
(VSPs), 101–102
Vertical markets, 227, 235–238
Vertical
Networks, Inc., 26–27, 231
Virtual communities, 185, 222,
223
Virtual computing, 197
mainstreaming of,
xv–xvi
Virtual private networks (VPNs), 2, 23, 75,
171–175
types of,
173–175
value-added characteristics of
providers of, 175
VPN-specific boxes, 175
Virtual
technical support, 150
Virtual trade exchanges, 185, 222, 223
Virtual
transactions, 53
Viruses
in e-mail attachments,
109
in scripts, 109
Wave division multiplexing
(WDM), 70–71
Web servers, 16, 36
caching of,
40
load balancing of, 53
WebSphere Commerce Suite,
157
Wide area networks (WANs), 19, 60–71
ASP
broadband link to, 60–63
ATM-based, 64,
65–69
customer broadband link to,
71
Frame Relay-based, 64–65,
68–69
leased shared,
171–172
wave division multiplexing (WDM),
70–71
Wide area storage, 217–218
Windows.NET,
220–222
Windows 2000, 219
scalability of,
216–217
Wireless Access Protocol (WAP), 42, 187
Wireless networks,
73–74, 186–188
Wireless technology, 4,
186–192
analog,
186
digital, 186
WASPs
(wireless ASPs), 188–190
Wireless Access
Protocol (WAP), 42, 187–188
WorldCom, 218
World Technology Services
(WTS), 204–205, 232
Write Once Read Many optical disk (WORM),
176
xDSL, 3, 71–73
xSPs, 233–234
Year 2000 (Y2K)
conversion platform, 161