A simple definition is some central source providing application/data acess to corporate or home users.

The latest concept gaining strong market momentum is that of Application Service Provicers (ASP's). Application Service Provider - a simple definition is some central source providing application/data acess to corporate or home users.

ASP's - which usually are external organizations - rent or outsource complete applications/data to corporate or home users. How it conceptually works is that the ASP houses all of the applications/data that the customer requires. The customer will have network connectivity between their office or home/mobile computer to the ASP. This network connectivity can be either via dial-up services (Analog/ISDN), dedicated trunk connectivity (T1/T3/DSL/ATM) between the corporate office and the ASP, or internet based. This network connectivity to the ASP is the infrastructure for the applications/data which customers need access. ASP's promise to deliver these applications with high performance, tight security, and an efficient technical support system. All of these are discussed in the sections to follow.

The benefits of this ASP model are many:

• Less overhead required on customer computers/networks
• Less technology administration/expertise required by the customer
• Choice in purchasing or renting/leasing of applications
• Instead of focusing on technologies - customers can focus on core business practices.

The idea is that these applications are served in a thin-client methodology. Here are the above bullets described.

Performance in application access from an ASP is most effective when the ASP serves it in a 'thin' fashion. Essentially - this means that the ASP will use Java/Static HTML/or Citrix ICA to distribute applications to customers - with the central theory being that the remote customer needs either a web browser or an ICA client (described later) to gain access to any applications/data that they may require. In a thin-client methodology customers are not required to load large applications on their computers. Those applications are generally located on the ASP's servers - and are distributed to customer machines in a thin fashion. Again - the most common of these access methods being web-enabled technologies like Java/HTML/and Citrix ICA. Citrix ICA is the most compelling of these thin-client access methodologies. Citrix ICA clients can generate full Windows application access - with the remote customer having minimal machine requirements and minimal software configuration/intervention. Citrix ICA clients can be as thin in requirements as an old 486 machine to a portable device as a Palm Pilot. A good example of this is an ASP that serves Visio (as an example of a productivity application) to customers. Unless Visio has a web-based interface to it - through either Java/HTML pages/or Active-X - the only effective way to generate full Visio access to the remote client is with Citrix ICA. The remote customer would not have Visio installed on their computer - just the Citrix ICA client. The Citrix ICA client on the remote computer would access the ASP's Server – which would house the Visio software. All this can be executed at LAN-like speeds.

Less on-site technology customers require administration/expenses when applications are being accessed via ASP's - as all that is centrally administered by the ASP. Corporate IT support departments have long been sore points for corporate application customers (users). ASP's promise to make that better - as applications are launched/accessed from ASP servers (server-based computing). The application is installed once on the ASP servers – and is the capable of being accessed by mutliple users simultaneously. ASP's using Citrix ICA will make this even better for customers - as ASP support departments will be able to remotely 'shadow' corporate and mobile/home users - essentially allowing the ASP to take over the remote user's computer - while the application administrator is physically located at the ASP. This shadowing function is only available in Citrix ICA - not in Java.

Businesses will now be able to concentrate on core practices - and no longer have to put significant effort on developing career paths for IT professionals - an area which is confusing for core practices management. Sharing an example where ASP's have significant benefit - the position of an Oracle database administrator at a law firm. A law firm has little understanding on how to develop an Oracle DBA's (database administrator) career - or even how best to train that DBA. And in reality - this law firm is primarily interested in practicing law - not in DBA maintenance and development. ASP's allow this law firm to not have to be concerned with proactive management of their Oracle database - and career development and maintenance of the Oracle DBA. The ASP will take care of all that - allowing the law firm to practice law - not Oracle database administration. This is much different than traditional IT outsourcing. Traditional IT outsourcing has all the same problems in technical support to users that in-house administration offers – as applications are primarily still loaded in a client/server methodology. Support promises to be very good when applications are being accessed at ASP's as applications are centrally loaded and administered.