Application service provision: origins and development

Abstract

For many years, IS outsourcing has been an important strategy researched by many academics and practitioners. The emergence of the application service provision (ASP) model has given a new dimension to outsourcing, but, at the same time, drawing much confusion as to whether it is a new model or just reshaped traditional outsourcing. The aim of this paper is to establish a discussion about linking these two phases in the development of information systems and technology (IS/IT) outsourcing: traditional IS outsourcing and ASP. The authors argue that the emergence of ASP is both evolutionary and revolutionary. Evolutionary in that it has its inspiration from traditional outsourcing, and revolutionary in that it exploits a revolutionary networking and communication media: the Internet. This paper investigates different aspects of each strategy (IS/IT outsourcing and ASP), then draws a model for relating them. The paper concludes by arguing that traditional IS/IT outsourcing assumptions could be used as a basis for studying the ASP environment; however, the need for further research on the new aspects of this model, and thus the formulation of new rules, remain of major importance.