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By Jon Bernstein, 22 May 2000 00:30

COMMENT Supporters of The Next Big Thing - from the network computer to e-marketplaces - rarely show much restraint when pushing their offerings, and themselves, forward. So let's credit those behind the 'apps on tap' - or application service provider (ASP) - crusade for undergoing a degree of self-examination. At a pre-Networld+Interop debate earlier this month, those most likely to benefit from customer adoption outlined the major barriers to entry. Among concerns cited from the likes of HP and Netliant were security fears, an unwillingness to be an ASP 'guinea pig', a lack of belief from users afraid they would be unable to bring software development back in-house as desired, and cultural reluctance within IT departments to give up control. As if to assuage some of these fears, the ASP industry consortium (ASPIC) announced plans to set up a watchdog to oversee the activities of almost 500 organisations. This will take place under the guidance of the World Intellectual Property Organization (Wipo). Self-criticism only goes so far, of course, and all these companies believe problems aired are far from insurmountable. And they are probably right. Nevertheless a couple of questions remain unanswered. First, why is application outsourcing being treated in isolation and not as part of the larger outsourcing trend? If users choose to turn their networks over to facilities management firms, then that's up to them, and it's by no means a precondition for using an ASP. But with a utility model of computing surely the infrastructure is a crucial part of the equation. Second, won't ASPs threaten software innovation? If software development is in the hands of third parties looking to appeal to the widest audience possible, the result will be bland, lowest common denominator applications. Advances come from solving a particular problem and then developing the fix for a wider audience. That's why many in-house applications have gone mainstream. Put another way, how do you stop software innovation being suffocated by virtual shrink-wrap? Answers on an email...