Crib sheet: ASPs

ASP stands for Application Service Provider. It is a company
that delivers and supports an application to a client, which typically runs from
a server at the ASP’s base.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

Email(Required)

OptOut

From time to time, we will send you emails about selected products, events and services from Personnel Today and OHW+ - but you can choose to opt-out at any time. If you do not wish to receive these emails, please tick this box.

Name

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Δ

The ASP will design the application around a company’s needs
and it can then be accessed by the client using a Wide Area Network (WAN),
intranet or the Internet. A good example of an ASP in the HR sector is
Eurobenefits.com, which will install a customised benefits management system
that can be accessed by staff via the Internet.

The ASP does all the difficult work and the user should be
left with a seamless, easy-to-use interface. Customer relationship management
and enterprise resource planning systems are other typical applications which
can be outsourced to an ASP. Two variations of ASP are also creeping into the
vernacular: WASP (Wireless Application Service Provider), which utilises
wireless technology for the application; and MASP (Multiple Application Service
Provider), which can integrate multiple-point applications.