Growing The ASP Market Through Partnerships
BY TRACY WEMETT
The application service provider (ASP) market exploded with the advent and adoption of broadband
services. These interactive applications have piqued the interest of Fortune 500 companies to e-businesses run out of garages.
Everyone wants to deploy the latest and greatest technologies,
but there have been barriers to widespread adoption.
Companies do not always want to bring these new applications in-house,
due to concern they'll tie up networks and IT staff. Keeping informed on the ever-changing
technologies alone requires a dedicated staff person. It seems that once
version 1.0 is installed, version 2.0 is already being called pass. The
interest in enhanced services continues to grow, forcing companies to find
ways to reconcile their internal issues and keep up with technology
trends.
ASPs appeared on the scene to solve these internal resource
problem with an outsourced option. For years, companies have
outsourced various office functions such as paychecks, with the
understanding that their bank, for example, would have greater expertise in
handling this service. Now, IT departments can take a similar approach in
outsourcing state-of-the-art broadband-based services. This strategy allows companies to focus on their core
competency (such as content delivery) rather than being bogged down with
ever-evolving technologies that perpetuate a constant learning curve.
Increased access to high-speed connections through DSL and cable modems
has amplified the demand for ASPs to offer new broadband applications. As
the Internet has evolved from simply being an information network to an
all-encompassing communications medium, the idea of interacting with voice
and video applications appeals to most users. Voice and video are already
being integrated into enterprises, instant messengers, e-commerce, and call
centers around the world, driving many ASPs to think about
adding these interactive capabilities to their current service offerings.
The old saying "Jack of all trades, master of none" finds
new life in today's technology market. Just as corporate IT departments
cannot be expected to manage their core business along with enhanced
applications, traditional ASPs cannot be expected to manage and implement
every new advancement on the technology scene.
In response to this need to
expand services, a new breed of specialized communications ASPs is
emerging, offering unprecedented broadband application quality with
minimal network disruption. The ASP's consultants assess clients; current network configurations and needs to design an interactive
communications solution customized to fit the application scenario.
Moreover, these consultants can help develop and integrate hosted services into a company's offerings. Specialized ASPs help to bridge
the technology gap, providing expertise in a particular niche technology
(voice, video, data collaboration, etc.)
Regardless of their quality and expertise, these specialized ASPs cannot
sufficiently stand on their own in the crowded hosting market. A
traditional ASP has an established customer base and an intricate
knowledge of customer networks, while a specialized ASP has a more focused
concentration and is often better suited to providing value-added services to
other service providers than directly to the end user. The specialized ASP
understands how the technology works in different environments and,
through consultants, can best configure the application
to deliver the expected results. A pairing of the niche focus of a
specialized ASP with the resources and customer base of a traditional ASP
benefits both parties by delivering the highest quality service and
feature-rich offerings to the end user.
When a traditional ASP speaks to a potential customer about adding
enhanced broadband services to their network, they often don't know
exactly how the customer plans to use them. Occasionally, the applications
exceed customer expectations. The customer may have a specific purpose in
mind for the service upfront, but once deployed may expand the use of the
technology. By examining the network
with input from internal IT departments and an existing ASP, the
specialized application provider may be able to suggest additional uses
for the
technology. This specialization enables portals and corporations alike to
integrate interactive technologies they may never have been deployed in-house.
Achieving this level of success depends on strategic partnering between
existing ASPs and ISPs, and the burgeoning specialized ASP market. Value-added
voice and visual communications services can be integrated by traditional
ASPs/ISPs in a variety of ways:
Conferencing On Demand
Whether a service provider's customer base is consumer or enterprise users, there
is a model for adding voice and video services for conferencing on demand.
For consumers, it is a value-added service that allows them to see and
talk with friends and family online, either one-on-one or in groups
(sometimes even replacing long-distance phone communication). It is most
often offered as a premium-level service for an additional fee per month
that provides unlimited usage to the customer.
For the enterprise, conferencing on demand offers a way for workgroups
to collaborate more effectively online with true face-to-face interaction.
While Web-based conferencing and voice over IP (VoIP) applications are
increasingly being used, interactive Web-based videoconferencing is still
in its infancy. ASPs and ISPs with enterprise customers
can either choose to charge a monthly fee for conferencing, or have
customers pay per usage (a set rate per participant, per hour,
similar to the way telephone-based conference calls are billed).
Internet-Based Group Videochat
Portal or community sites may outsource enhanced services
to increase their number of visitors, attract new customers,
and increase the amount of time the average visitor spends on the site. To these ends, Internet videochat is a powerful tool for increasing
interaction between site visitors and providing a compelling set of
features that attract new users. Unlike conferencing on demand, videochat allows users to participate in public videochat rooms rather than private
ones, and encourages users to interact and meet new people in a group
setting. ASPs can offer this on a site for free to increase traffic and derive revenue from peripheral advertising and
sponsorships. Or, they may charge a
monthly usage fee, particularly if the site provides specific content
in relation to the videochat.
Web-Based Events
Web-based conferencing opens up a number of possibilities
for interactive events such as conferences and seminars, interactive concerts,
or Web-based talk shows. Events can be one-time or recurring, and can scale
to include much larger groups of people. They can use a combination of
live, interactive voice and video as well as streaming media technologies
to suit a particular application scenario. ASPs might host these events,
particularly in vertical markets such as entertainment. Revenue for events
can be derived from sponsorships, paid by the attendees, or generated
through merchandising.
Value-added communications services such as live voice and video are
stretching the way the Internet and IP networks are being used. Through a
variety of implementations, there is a growing opportunity for traditional
ASPs and specialized ASPs to work together to meet the demand for new
Internet-based applications in both the consumer and enterprise
markets.
Tracy Wemett is the director of marketing for CUseeMe
Networks. The company develops software solutions that facilitate
worldwide video and audio communication and data collaboration across the
Internet. CUseeMe Web provides the industry's first multipoint video
instant messaging over the Internet. CUseeMe Pro and CUseeMe Conference
Server create a client-server solution that allow multiple users to
participate simultaneously in conferences over the Internet. ClassPoint is
a CUseeMe Conference Server add-on that provides a complete solution for
corporate training and distance learning. The company supports multiple
platforms, including Windows 95/98, NT, Sun Solaris, and Red Hat Linux. |