idg.net
Big guns rattle ASP battlefield
Despite user concerns, Oracle, IBM, Microsoft, and HP are betting heavily on apps as services
Excerpt:
Many users, however, are still more than a little reluctant to commit to a hosted strategy. That reluctance is triggered in part by the financial instabilities many ASPs, ISPs, and other online service providers have shown in the past year.
Potential user viewpoint: "If I am going to do it, it will be with a big, financially strong provider..."
The most significant technical stumbling block to emerge is the difficulty of data and application integration, according to users.
"It just doesn't make sense to outsource large applications when I have to get ERP [enterprise resource planning] from one ASP and CRM [customer relationship management] from another, and the data can't be integrated because it's housed by two competitors," said Pat Elwood, advanced technology consultant at Hertz, in Oklahoma City. "If I could have all my applications integrated, that would make the prospect more attractive."
Potential user viewpoint: "If I am going to do it, I am certainly going to get complete integration for my risk and effort..." |
