Application Service Providers - Essay Example

Introduction Application Service Providers, in short ASPs, is a very well known term to us. Basically Application Service Provider is nothing buta business that caters Information Technology related services to different clients over a wide network. Although ASPs were used in different businesses irrespective of their volume but it cannot be denied that it takes a complete different look with the advent of Web. Because due to different Web technologies it becomes easy to create ASPs and it grows hugely in last few years. Currently, a large number of people including academicians and researchers distribute information through the Internet and as this number goes on increasing day by day, ASPs begin to generate new business models. Some examples of popular models are: To create a database of thousands of products so that any one can browse at any time and choose the right one for him or her. It would have been impossible to create such a large list without using Web technologies. An example of this kind of database is Amazon. To create a platform where many people discuss about different products or technology related problems. Here it becomes possible to know latest and worldwide views about a particular product or a technological problem. An example of this kind of model is Epinions. Another popular model is used to create an interface where online auctions can be made in inexpensive manner and many people can buy or sell any item of their choice. It is also impossible to do this at reasonable cost without using Web technologies. An example of this kind of model is Ebay. (Brain, 2008) ASP: different dimensions Software must be customized to implement any ASP model. This software is also sometimes called On Demand Software or Software as a Service (SaaS). The main purpose of this software is to provide access of a particular application program. So it must be compatible to different popular Operating Systems such as Windows, Linux, etc. and since it will provide service over Internet so it should support standard protocol such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Necessity of ASP is originated from the increasing cost of specialized software. Because it often has exceeded the price range of small or medium sized businesses. Other factors, which play important role in determining the price of the software, are the growing complexities of the software and the distribution cost of the software to the end users. Using ASPs both the complexities of the software and distribution cost of software can be reduced. Moreover the burden of up gradation of software is removed from the company at the end. Because this become the responsibility of the ASP to maintain updated service, 24 × 7 technical support through out the year, security and smooth functioning of the system. (“Why you should (or should not) use an ASP”, 2004) ASP business can be classified under several heads. They are as follows: ASP, which is used for single application, is known as functional ASP such as credit card payment processing. ASP, which is used as a solution to a specific customer, is known as vertical market ASP. ASP, which provides wide range solutions to its client, is known as enterprise ASP. ASP, which is designed to cater service and technical support to small business over a small area, is known as local ASP. ASP which is of low cost solution, designed to serve some specific purpose and offered through website is known as volume ASP. Example of this type is PayPal service. Moreover there is another ASP concept, which is used by large companies, which is designed for a particular business model that supports a specific group of customers. (Focacci, Mockler and Gartenfeld, 2005) The concept of ASP seems to be very complex in nature but we use different forms of ASP for many years. By discussing any one of the existing models of the ASP we can acquire knowledge about Internet ASPs. An airline is one of the conventional examples of non Internet ASPs. Many people fly frequently for commercial and non-commercial purpose but the number of people who own an airplane is negligible, because most of the people prefer airlines to cater service to them on a per-journey basis. The main reason behind this the extreme high cost of owning and maintaining a jet. Airlines are the examples of classic ASPs since it provide a person or his/her company a choice i.e. one can own and maintain his or her own jet or even one can charter a jet from an airline at the time of necessity. Beside this there is many other ASP like models which we use daily. Some of them are as follows: It will not be a wise decision for a company to own and operate its own nationwide telephone network instead of paying very less amount of money as cost of its calls. Similarly owning and maintaining own distribution channel for sending packages from one place to another is much costly than paying fees to other shipping companies as and when their service is required. To be precise we see ASPs in various forms and models around us and we take decision whether we use ASPs or not depending on different economic factors such as number of times we use a particular service in a certain period and cost of having and maintaining own system for getting that particular service. The term ASP, in stricter sense, point to companies those provide their service through Internet i.e. ASP is related to that particular domain where Internet plays a major role. For this reason airlines system being a proper example of ASP model we do not consider it as an ASP. Usually in most of the cases ASPs point to those companies, which provide customized software applications and necessary services through the Internet. And for smooth functioning for the system they own server of updated configuration, which run the application software. For the same reason they also hire skilled professional who will be able to monitor and modify the system according to the client’s need. The fee for the software and associated service is charged per-use basis or a consolidated amount is charged as monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis. Sometimes ASPs also provide application software and related services to customers for free. Throughout last few years it is seen that ASPs grow immensely in all sectors of life. It became possible due to some factors, which can be termed as its advantages against the other contemporary systems. ASPs can be useful to all kinds of business whether it is small or large for its smart and always-on technical support to its clients. . Its cost varies from small to large amount depending on the volume and other overheads of the business. So for a small business it becomes easier to use this system since its implementation cost is minimum. The time required to implement this system is much less in comparison to other system. So time between taking decision of implementing this system and actually running it without any hassle being very less becomes a key factor of choosing this system over other available options. The pay-as-per-use model often becomes advantageous to small business. At the same time large business has no argument for paying high for their frequent use of the system. Moreover ASPs can arrange a discount on fees for the large business which often becomes very attractive package to those large businesses. Since the ASPs often support outsourcing the cost is reduced by a significant amount and again it becomes beneficial to customers. Often many business organizations suffer from low Internet bandwidth and some sort of dissatisfaction may generate among the customers of that business organization. This may be due to the mismatching or non-compatibility of different Internet protocols with the existing software. Under this circumstance sometimes it is seen that the ASPs provide Internet bandwidth to its customers at lower cost. In this case there is no scope of any problem regarding compatibility and moreover the ASP throughout the year provides technical support. All these combined if comes in a package becomes a lucrative offer to small as well as large business organizations. The ASP model plays a significant role in eliminating the necessity of owning a robust IT infrastructure for the smooth functioning of the application software and other associated applications. For example if the customer requires Oracle and any other database software he would has to support both the application software and the database in the traditional system but in the ASP model the overhead of using and maintaining this task is eliminated. Thus implementing this system becomes easier and cost effective in comparison to other traditional systems. Another determining factor behind the increased popularity of ASP model is the huge cost of software serving specific purpose. Since this cost is increasing day by day it comes to be an almost impossible task for a small business to buy and implement this software. For this reason small business owners who can’t afford this high cost avoid implementing specialized software and thus can’t satisfy their customer’s need and in the long run they can’t expand their business, even sometimes they fail to hold their existing customers. But In case of ASP model the cost is less than the other traditional system because here the cost is distributed among the clients who are using the same application. Again with the advent of newer technologies the inclusion of more features in particular software is necessary at the cost of the simplicity of the software. To support the continuously increasing customer database and to satisfy ever-increasing need of the customers the software is upgraded at regular interval and for this reason the complexity of a specialized software increases to a large extent. Moreover distribution of this upgraded version of this software to the customers at regular interval becomes a difficult and expensive task for the software provider. Above all there are important factors like continuously monitoring and maintenance of the software, which also determine the cost of the software. All these combined cause a hike in the cost of the software by a significant amount, which becomes a large overhead to the customers, eventually small business owners can’t afford this high cost, and thus they are deprived of getting help of the newer technology. ASP model eliminates all these cost determining factors to a large extent and makes it possible that small business owners can get the benefits of the newer technologies and be able to expand their business through their prompt service. In the ASP model the responsibilities of smooth functioning of the Application Software lies completely on the vendor of that software. The clients access this system through any popular browser using any Markup Language like Hyper Text Markup Language (widely known as HTML), which makes a way of putting information in a document. HTML also helps to design interactive forms and to place tables, images and other objects efficiently in a document. HTML also supports different scripting languages such as JavaScript, which are necessary to accomplish different tasks. Sometimes it is also seen that the vendor provides some customized software for the same purpose. This software works with the system through different Application Programming Interface (API). Application Programming Interface is an interface between operating system and customized software functioning together to accomplish some predefined tasks. One of the greatest advantages of using API is that it can be integrated easily with the existing system of the clients. (Brian, 2008) Since ASPs take the responsibilities of providing support to all sorts of requirements of its clients it has to own necessary equipments and other related things like software. The equipments include server of high configuration and other important accessories like router, etc. Moreover they employ skilled people to run the system smoothly and satisfy its customers. These skilled employees keep the system updated and maintain the system in such a manner so that optimum performance can be obtained. In addition to this they make available all the resources through web so that clients get support as and when necessary. All these combined makes it possible to cater quality service to clients through Internet and thus this always-on service fulfill the requirements of clients. Sometimes ASPs also provide service through thin client system. It is basically a computer (or may be a software), which is at the client’s end and work following the client server architecture. Its proper functioning mainly depends on the performance of the server, which controls the whole system centrally. In this system the major task like different types of processing and manipulation lies on the server and it also sends or receives information through interactive session with the user following the client server architecture over a network. Thus all hazards of maintenance and integration of software shifted from client to ASP and the client can enjoy the benefits of cool running of the system. (Harney, 2001) The success of the ASPs lies on the reliability of the system. Clients can depend confidently on it for its increased security and (almost) real time execution of any request. For the security purpose they take help of different technologies so that wrong and unlawful activities can be prevented and make the whole system robust and secure. At last there is agreement between the two parties (here the client and ASP) where details of services regarding maintenance, performance, technical support, other related issues and even penalties in case of violation of the agreement are mentioned. Thus this Service Level Agreement (SLA) protects the clients. (Toigo, 2001) Now, we may consider some common and simple ASP from which someone get help and support if he or she wish to set up a small business. First of all he (or she) has to contact the companies, which host websites for different organization and individual, and becomes aware of the services he will receive and the necessary expenses for it. These web hosting companies take the responsibility of the software, bandwidth and other related issues and finally make arrangement to host the website for its clients. Next we will consider the ASP who provides the email service to its clients. In this case the ASP will implement an application where its clients can manage their emails effortlessly. Managing emails mainly includes receiving and sending emails and online chatting while signing in an email account. In this case there are two types of ASPs – first one who gives free service and the other who gives service on charging monthly or yearly fees. There is another type of ASP who provides fax service to its clients. Its services mainly include managing faxes of its clients and diverting faxes to the respective client. Most ASPs provide this kind of service free of cost. The major benefit of these ASP models is that client has nothing to do but paying fees considerably less than the amount spent before when for getting these services one has to buy internet connection, server, software which will run on server, software which will manage the emails and different equipments necessary to establish a network. Moreover skilled people were employed to keep the system running. For all these reasons the cost was much higher and the associated hazards were really troublesome. (Columbus, 2000) Hence we reach at a point where we choose a particular ASP and discuss it in detail. Let us take the example of Web Hosting Company and consider the different technologies behind it. First of all we have to know what is World Wide Web. The World Wide Web (also known as W3 or WWW) is software that helps getting information by browsing from other websites. Thus WWW maintains a network that provides documents and the user-friendly interface to access them. A standard markup language known as Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) creates this interface. This language with the help of other languages like Java, JavaScript, etc. makes it possible to increase the utility of the web pages. The functioning of the WWW is mainly depends on the transmission of data through internet which becomes possible due to different protocols like Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and different network devices like router is necessary for establishing the path so that data can be sent from its source to the destination. TCP/IP manages the whole process of sending data from one place to another place and in this process data is first divided into packets and then sent to its destination. TCP/IP is responsible for proper and steady transmission of data to the destination. In this process each computer is assigned a unique address known as Internet Protocol Address (IP Address) so that transmission of data from a computer to another computer over the Internet becomes hazardless. In most of the cases the Client Server Architecture is followed where client is the receiver and the information provider acts as the server. Apart from the TCP/IP protocol there are some more protocols like Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP). HTTP is a protocol, which is responsible for transmission of web pages from server to client. FTP is used to transfer large data files from its source to destination. There are other protocols like Post Office Protocol (POP), Internet Messaging Access Protocol (IMAP) and Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), which are used in email service. Domain Name System (DNS) is another important part of this technology, which converts IP Address to a name, which can be understood easily. Thus the domain name helps to identify a company on the Internet. Generally the domain names can be classified under two heads - The Non-Geographic Domains and Geographic Domains. The top level internet domains which fall under Non-Geographical Domain are ‘dot com (.com)’ which stands for commercial organizations, ‘edu’ which stands for educational institutions, ‘org’ which stands for organizations, ‘int’ which stands for an international organization, ‘gov’ which stands for department or setup of government, etc. And the geographically based top level domain use codes consisting of two letters such as – us which stands for United States, ‘fr’ which stands for France, in which stands for India, etc. Another important component of this technology is Uniform Resource Locators (URLs). It is a text that provides an Internet address and its location. There are several types of URLs like Web Page URL, FTP URL, Gopher URL, etc. Companies like Verio and WebHosting.com provide a classic scenario of virtual Web hosting. (Brain, 2008) The technology behind websites and Internet fulfills many purposes since Internet is a huge collection of globally available information and one can access this by browsing different websites. This information can be used for study, research, business, technical and many other purposes. It provides a way of marketing, buying, selling of different items, providing different services and economic research. Today if a company wants to promote its product to a large number of people Internets can be of great use. The company can place the advertisement of their product on the popular websites and on the search engines. Similarly if a company wants to sell or buy some products it can arrange an interactive interface on the website for receiving and paying of money in a secured way. Similarly a service provider can provide its service through the Internet. Again a researcher can get his or her required data through the Internet overcoming the geographical barrier. It also provides a collection of large number of books and archives that one can access and get necessary help from that. People from all parts of the world can get information regarding software, music, games, health, travel, hobbies, etc. Presently, with the advent of newer technologies the information is associated with image, audio, video and animation and one can easily transmit all types of information through the Internet. If information can be digitized it will be made available to a large number of people over the Internet and many people make use of it. But there are some issues where more research is still needed to improve this technology. The issues related with the real time execution and security of this system is worth mentioning. Still there is time lag between placing a request and its execution over a long distance during busy hours. And the last but not the least hackers and wicked people are always busy to collapse a system which runs on Internet. We hopefully wait for a day when technical people fix these issues and we all can enjoy the freedom given by this technology. Again if human beings can start living in other planets then our domain can be extended to a large extent and we can dream of a day when the techies will make it possible to connect different planets of the universe through the internet and common people make use of it. Apart from the advantages mentioned earlier this technology nullified the geographical barrier and provides one with a means to work from a different location even from a different country and contact his or her employer or clients from any part of the world. Another important advantage is that it eradicates the necessity of having a specific business location and one can operate his or her business from his or her residential place. While traveling the need of carrying particular software or even a laptop is eliminated because one can access the ASP through the Internet from any place. There are also some disadvantages of using this technology. The customer has to accept the application provided by the ASP and rely on the service provider for an important function and thus their control on the system is reduced. Moreover if the system encounters a sudden problem during business hours then the client has to contact the service provider for support and it usually takes some time. Any major change in the domain of ASPs may have adverse effect regarding cost and service on its clients. Another important disadvantage of using this system is that sometimes problem may arise at the time of integration of the application software with the non-ASP system. (Zimmerman, 2000) Conclusion The performance of the mentioned technology depends largely on the web and scripting technologies and any up gradation in these technologies have considerable effect on the ASP. Since it is a Internet based application so any change in any of the protocol of the web technology causes the change in application software. Similarly updating the technology of script language makes it mandatory that necessary change is to be done in the application software so that end user can get the benefits of the improved technology. Again for day by day increasing business of a client if change or updating of database software is needed then also corresponding changes in the application software are to be done. So far what we have discussed is that to cater prompt service using improved technologies, this ASP model is in its utmost need in today’s life. (Krajewski, 2001) Performance is no doubt is the major determining factor of the success of ASP model. But there are other important issues like reliability and scalability behind the global acceptance of this system. Moreover robustness and security of this system also plays major role behind its success. Thus the implementation of ASP model becomes beneficial in all aspects for both the business organizations and the service provider and hence its extraordinary success in comparison to other traditional system follows. References 1. Brian, Marshall, “How ASPs Work”, 2008 retrieved on February 21 2008 from: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/asp4.htm 2. Columbus, Louis.Realizing e-Business With Application Service Providers, Sams, 2000 3. Focacci, Luisa., Mockler, Robert.J. and Gartenfeld, Marc.E. Application Service Providers in business, Best Business Books, 2005 4. Harney, John. Application Service Providers (ASPs): A Managers Guide, Addison-Wesley Professional, 2001 5. Krajewski, Kathy, Whats Up With ASPs? (Application service providers), Association Management, American Society of Association Executives, 2001, 53, 5, 39 6. Toigo, Jon.William. Essential Guide to Application Service Providers, Pearson Education, 2001 7. “Why you should (or should not) use an ASP”, 2008, retrieved on February 21 2008: http://www.olcsoft.com/asp.htm 8. Zimmerman, Glen. ASP Enabling Your Business.(Application service providers) National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management, The National Underwriter Company, 2000 Read More