An application service provider (ASP) is a business providing
application software
Application may refer to:
Mathematics and computing
* Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks
** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a c ...
generally through the Web.
The ASP model
The application software resides on the
vendor's system and is accessed by users through a
communication protocol
A communication protocol is a system of rules that allows two or more entities of a communications system to transmit information via any kind of variation of a physical quantity. The protocol defines the rules, syntax, semantics (computer scien ...
. Alternatively, the vendor may provide special purpose client software. Client software may interface with these systems through an
application programming interface
An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how t ...
.
ASP characteristics include:
* ASP fully owns and operates the software application(s)
* ASP owns, operates and maintains the servers that support the software
* ASP makes information available to customers via the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
or a
thin client
In computer networking, a thin client is a simple (low-performance) computer that has been optimized for establishing a remote connection with a server-based computing environment. They are sometimes known as ''network computers'', or in th ...
* ASP may bill on a per-use basis, a monthly/annual fee, or a per-labor hour basis
The advantages to this approach include:
* Software costs for the application are spread over multiple clients
* Vendors provide more application experience than the in-house staff
* Key software systems are kept up to date and managed for performance by experts
* Access to product and technology experts dedicated to available products
* Reduction of internal IT costs to a predictable fee
Some disadvantages include:
* The client must generally accept the application as provided
* The client must rely on the provider for a critical business function
* The client must adapt to possible vendor changes
* Integration with other applications may be problematic
See also
*
Application server
An application server is a server that hosts applications or software that delivers a business application through a communication protocol.
An application server framework is a service layer model. It includes software components available to a ...
*
Business service provider
A business service provider (BSP) is one of several categories of service provider in the business world. As opposed to an application service provider which provides application components over a computer network, the services provided by a BSP a ...
*
Communication as a service
Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage (cloud storage) and computing power, without direct active management by the user. Large clouds often have functions distributed over multip ...
*
Hosted service provider
A hosted service provider (xSP) is a business that delivers a combination of traditional IT functions such as infrastructure, applications (software as a service), security, monitoring, storage, web development, website hosting and email, over the ...
*
Multitenancy
Software multitenancy is a software architecture in which a single instance of software runs on a server and serves multiple tenants. Systems designed in such manner are "shared" (rather than
"dedicated" or "isolated"). A tenant is a group of us ...
*
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is an agreement in which one company hires another company to be responsible for a planned or existing activity which otherwise is or could be carried out internally, i.e. in-house, and sometimes involves transferring employees and ...
*
Service level agreement
A service-level agreement (SLA) is a commitment between a service provider and a customer. Particular aspects of the service – quality, availability, responsibilities – are agreed between the service provider and the service user.
T ...
*
Software as a service
Software as a service (SaaS ) is a software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted. SaaS is also known as "on-demand software" and Web-based/Web-hosted software.
SaaS is con ...
*
Utility computing
Utility computing or The Computer Utility is a service provisioning model in which a service provider makes computing resources and infrastructure management available to the customer as needed, and charges them for specific usage rather than a ...
*
Web application
A web application (or web app) is application software that is accessed using a web browser. Web applications are delivered on the World Wide Web to users with an active network connection.
History
In earlier computing models like client-serve ...
References
External links
* {{curlie, Computers/Software/Business/E-Commerce/Business-to-Business/Application_Service_Providers/, Application Service Providers
IT service management
Customer relationship management