Consortium’s ASP Tracking Study Released

The ASP Industry Consortium (ASPIC) and PMP Research are now offering non-ASPIC members the opportunity to purchase the largest and most comprehensive study to date of the ASP market — a year-long study comprised of more than 3,000 interviews of buyers and vendors in 17 countries to track evolving attitudes and trends in ASP deployment.

“We decided to make this research available to a wider audience because we believe it will help both buyers and sellers of ASP services make more educated decisions when contemplating their respective strategies,” said Paula Hunter, chairman of the ASP Industry Consortium and chief market strategist of Xevo Corp.

Findings from the first phase of the worldwide ASP usage and awareness research program (ASP Buyer Phase 1) reveal that, contrary to common perception, larger businesses are more likely to buy ASP services than small businesses. Over 40 percent of companies recorded as ASP users have turnovers in excess of $100 million and 44 percent employ in excess of 500 people.

“We were pleased to find that large businesses are leading the way in purchasing ASP services. It is logical that those most comfortable with the outsourcing model are the first to understand the benefits of renting generic business collaboration and productivity applications with help desk and maintenance support already provided,” Hunter said.

Overall, there is a 40 percent increase in the willingness of those using outsourcing to purchase ASP services over companies that do not use outsourcing. The highest incidence of companies using outsourcing occurs in Norway, followed by Brazil, Singapore and Italy, with most outsourcing activity appearing in the public sector.

The research has been divided into separate buyer and vendor studies. The first phase of each study is a quantitative sampling of market developments, followed by a second phase of more extensive qualitative analysis of attitudes and actions. The first phase of the buyer study is now available. Vendor Phase I will be released in September, with Buyer and Vendor Phase II scheduled for October and December respectively.

The research also showed that there is a high level of latent demand for ASP services across the world. However, before such demand develops into mainstream adoption, potential users require compelling evidence that the ASP model works. Just under one quarter of companies contacted (23 percent) are “likely” to use ASP services.

Of these, 32 percent anticipate renting some form of application from an ASP within 12 months. However, the survey findings indicate the market will reach a level of relative maturity in three years, with 71 percent of potential users anticipating ASP usage within that time frame.

While there was little difference among market sectors with regard to current and potential usage, analysis across the verticals showed that the computer and high technology businesses (20 percent) are the greatest users of ASP services, followed by retail organizations (collectively 16 percent) and the public sector, including health/central government (12 percent).

The study recorded a relatively high incidence of US financial institutions using ASP services, which constitute the majority of the 11 percent figure returned overall. Business service organizations (11 percent) were also well represented among ASP users.

The research is available for purchase in a variety of configurations. Individual country results can be acquired, as well as those from all countries in different levels of detail. Pricing information is available from PMP Research.