application service provider (ASP)
Application service providers( ASP) are service companies that offer application-oriented services. All applications run on the provider's servers. Thanks to the Internet and global telecommunications infrastructures, the software functions can be obtained via the network. The complexity of software and computing power at the workplace is reduced and transferred to the network. Existing personal computers(PCs) of older design can continue to be used, since the power comes from the network and remote computing is independent of the operating system.
What ASPs offer and the advantages for companies
The Application Service Provider has full responsibility for providing the services over public networks or the Internet. He manages the services, maintains and updates them, provides security, backups and customer support. For companies, the advantage of application hosting services is greater cost-effectiveness, since the customer only rents the application programs, better calculability of computing power and lower capital costs( CapEx), since companies do not tie up capital but can calculate with fixed costs. Maintenance, updates and further development of the software are carried out centrally and made available to the user.
To enable the ASP market to build on a broad platform as early as possible, leading ASP providers founded an ASP consortium in Germany in 2000 to promote the ASP model throughout Europe. To this end, the consortium aims to drive forward the development of technical standards as well as security, licensing and billing models. Software as a Service ( SaaS) has a comparable approach to Application Hosting Service.