ASP launches front-office application service
By Michael Vizard and Stannie Holt
InfoWorld Electric
Posted at 7:10 AM PT, Sep 21, 1999
A start-up company headed by former Oracle and Apple executives on Tuesday launched a Web service that specializes in front-office applications.
eAlity is an application service provider (ASP) that has developed a suite of 40 applications, called eXpress, covering time sheets, expense reports, sales reports, order entry, and purchasing.
The service is aimed primarily small to medium-size companies or departments within large com-panies that don't have complex requirements or the resources to deploy their own front-office appli-cations.
One analyst said the service will be easy and quick for small businesses to set up.
"It's all self service; if you can use Amazon.com, you can use this," said Laurie McCabe, an analyst with Summit Strategies, in Boston. "There is no customization or programming required, and eventually they will have the full range of applications a business will require."
eAlity is headed by Chairman James Kao, who previously served as an executive with Oracle's Advanced Technology Consulting Group, and CEO James Buckley, who previously served as president of the Americas for Apple Computer.
Kao said one of the things that will distinguish the eXpress services is the use of XML as a data file format that makes it easy to share data across all the applications. In addition, the service is built on top of a custom-built application server that can support multiple instances of an applica-tion.
"One of the problems with application servers on the market today is that they are not designed to support more than a single instance of an application," Kao said.
Among the first customers eXpress are Williams-Sonoma, E-Loan, and BabyCenter.com, a sub-sidiary of eToys.
Pricing for eXpress starts at $7,200 for 50 users accessing four applications.
eAlity, in Foster City, Calif., is at www.eality.com |
