PlaceWare Inc. has made its reputation — and its revenue — by offering hosted conferencing software. However, the Mountain View, Calif.-based ASP also wants to tap the market of customers that demand an on-site solution.
To meet the demand, Placeware today announced PlaceWare Conference Center On-Site Solution, a managed, on-premise option. The move effectively turns the ASP into a managed service provider (MSP) as well.
The new offering is aimed at enterprises that are prevented from using hosted software due to IT policies, particularly companies in the financial services and pharmaceutical industries, said Product Marketing Manager David Hastie. The on-site version will be provisioned at the customer’s site, installed, upgraded and maintained by PlaceWare.
“This is in no way a departure from the ASP model — 99 percent of our business will be hosted,” Hastie told ASPnews. “That other one percent will generate significant revenue, though.”
According to Hastie, the bundled hardware, software and maintenance solution “mirrors completely the functionality of the hosted version” and features the same level of security, reliability, redundancy and scalability. “It’s a miniature version of the hosted product. The infrastructure is the same.”
Initial site and needs assessments for PlaceWare Conference Center On-Site Solution are available to customers immediately, Placeware said. The solution is priced as a complete package including the hardware, the service and the management costs. Hastie said there is a 250-seat minimum requirement.
Pricing will vary based on site assessment and capacity requirements, according to Placeware. “The hosted version does offer economies of scale, so the on-site version is a more costly solution,” Hastie said.
Do you have a comment or question about this article or the ASP industry in general? Speak out in the ASP Discussion Forum.
