January ASPnews Top 20

The first installment of the Top 20 ASP list in 2002 presents a dilemma for the ASPnews team. Ordinarily, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing would call for instant dismissal from the list of leading ASPs. In the case of USi , however, we have elected to declare a
one-month reprieve pending further information.

One factor in the decision is that USi’s business seems set to survive, albeit in a different form. The
other is that this month there is no single clear contender poised to deprive it of
its Top 20 crown. If we were to promote Interpath, USi’s prospective sibling
in the Bain portfolio, it would be to pre-empt a possible, but by no means
inevitable, merger.

Replacing USi with the acquisitive and fast-growing Divine
also seems a tad premature. There are half a dozen other names on our
radar, but none are ready to claim a spot this month. So
USi retains its position, but will likely leave the Top 20 in February.

Divine Intervention Means Elimination
With Divine’s acquisition of managed hosting provider Data Return expected
to close this month there is a change in the infrastructure list, its place
taken by a completely different type of company.

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) joins the list, taking its top 20 spot in recognition of the support it is
giving to ASPs such as Concur , Intacct and others by marketing their services through its own small- and medium-sized business sales teams.

Some might argue that ADP should have replaced USi on the Top 20 ASP list. ADP does have a long history of providing
outsourced, computer-based business services, which surely is the definition
of an ASP? Well, not quite.

Our definition of ASP requires the provider to
offer users direct access to its services via a browser or other
Internet-based connection, and while ADP does indeed provide this type of
service to a minority of its customer base, it is small change compared to its
overall revenues.

However, ADP is doing some heavy lifting in terms of putting ASP
services from its third-party partners in front of it customers, which is
the prime characteristic we look for in candidates for the Infrastructure
Top 20 list. ADP’s commitment to the model dates all the way back to 1998, too,
making it one of the earliest brandname businesses to support and promote the ASP sector.

Top 20 ASPs

This is the list of companies that, in the view of ASPnews, are the world’s 20 leading ASPs. For inclusion, companies must meet the following criteria:

• Have ASP and/or Web services as their core business
• Have a substantial and active customer base
• Be able to demonstrate proven revenue streams
• Be innovators within the ASP and/or Web services models
• Be recognized as a leader by others within the industry

Top 20 ASP Infrastructure Providers

These are the 20 companies that, in the view of ASPnews, are the most influential providers of software or infrastructure for the ASP and Web services industry. For inclusion, companies must meet the following criteria:

• Have a substantial and active customer base of ASPs and/or Web service providers
• Be active in their support and promotion of the ASP and/or Web services model
• Be innovators within the ASP and/or Web services models
• Be recognized as a leader by others within the industry

What do you think of our choices? What ASPs and infrastructure providers are missing that deserve to be here? And what companies do you think made that list that shouldn’t have? Critique our selections — or make your own list — in the ASP Discussion Forum.