If Microsoft, Oracle, and PeopleSoft have their way, your
days of peeling shrink-wrap from a new box of software
are numbered. All three companies continue aggressively
pushing the application service provider (ASP) model of
software delivery, under which applications are hosted
online for rent or continued use under a licensing agreement.
As part of its .net initiative, Microsoft has
created an array of programs designed to shift its business
toward the ASP arena. Many of the programs involved
deal with ASPs, web hosting companies, and system integrators.
By the end of this year, Microsoft expects to license
much of its product line - including Exchange, SQL Server,
Office, Site Server Commerce Edition, Windows Server,
Advanced Server, and Visual Studio - to Asps and hosting
companies.
Oracle is also enthusiastic about the future of ASP-driven
solutions. As part of CEO Larry Ellison's goal to steer
away from the packaged-software model, the company has
been running a long-standing Business Online division
that hosts applications on the Web. Like PeopleSoft,
the company plans to bring enterprise resource planning
applications from the back office to the Web.
Microsoft president Steve Ballmer predicts that in
ten years all software will be sold as services. Oracle
officials predict that more than half of its software
can be delivered through the ASP model within two years.
Source: PC Magazine - September 19, 2000
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