Asp net step by step

Another Step Closer to the Carrier ASP

Most global service providers say they don't want to become ASPs. AT&T, Sprint and WorldCom all want to be ASP enablers but don't think they have the expertise necessary to deliver the applications themselves. Cable & Wireless is set on bucking that trend.

C&W became the first big telecommunications company to set up shop as an ASP when it launched its a-Services division about six months ago. Since then, among large service providers, only Qwest Communications has followed suit by offering more than just an infrastructure platform for other ASPs.

On April 9 C&W a-Services rolled out a Web portal that does away with the need for a special client to access the Microsoft applications the company hosts. "This is the next step in our vision," says Simon Angove, senior director of product development at C&W a-Services. "It gives our customers anywhere, anytime access to their applications."

C&W a-Services' new Webtop services, which are available now in the U.S., Europe and Australia, include Microsoft Office, Exchange, Outlook and Windows 2000 with Internet Explorer, plus storage services. The company competes closely with such ASPs as CenterBeam and Everdream, which essentially rent software applications to users.

C&W a-Services recently won ASP certification from Microsoft, joining companies like Qwest, USinternetworking and ManagedOps.com as graduates of the software giant's certification process.

"The Microsoft certification bolsters Cable & Wireless' offer and alleviates any confidence issues users might have," says Amy Levy, industry analyst at Summit Strategies.

The Webtop services are aimed exclusively at small to midsized business customers and can be bundled with Compaq PCs and Internet access provided by C&W's data services arm. The services range in price from $19.95 a month for simple collaboration to $200 a month for the full package including Web access.

"Compaq, Microsoft and Cable & Wireless all recognize that this is going to be the way that small and medium enterprises buy and use IT," Angove says. "It's inevitable that it's going to happen, but there is a huge challenge in educating users. Small businesses are a tough nut to crack."

Unlike Qwest, which sees its ability to sell directly to local telephone company small business customers as a big asset, C&W a-Services is not pushing its application services directly. The company sells them only through channels such as value-added resellers and systems integrators because they already own the small business customer, Angove says.

"That's absolutely the way to sell these services," Levy concurs. "Channel partners are the ones that know small businesses. They live and breathe them."

It's a Challenge

But Angove admits the channel strategy can be challenging, too. "The hardest part is getting the resellers to be effective," he says. "We put tools online for them, such as a means for calculating the total cost of ownership, and that helps."

Eventually, C&W a-Services plans to add one more sales channel: other ASPs. The company is working on an application infrastructure program (due out within the next six months) that will include a gateway to the Webtop portal. Then ASPs that sign up to host their apps at a C&W data center will be able to deliver their applications through the portal.

"Our solutions can complement each other," Angove says. "We're focused on office automation and collaboration, whereas other ASPs may have a specific vertical application to offer."

Cable & Wireless is committed to making the ASP model work, despite the fact that so many ASPs are now struggling to stay afloat.

"There is, no doubt, more consolidation and attrition to come," Angove says. "Unfortunately, that's a source of differentiation for us  long-term viability. We do have deep pockets."