Peoplesoft claims the end is nigh for independent ASPs

NEWS The European ASP project, eCentre, will offer Peoplesoft's human resource management and financial software in the Benelux countries, France and the UK by the beginning of next year. Peoplesoft launched an ASP offering in the US twelve months ago. Although it has only signed up 26 customers so far, it expects the ASP model to be an increasingly popular way to access software. Craig Conway,CEO of Peoplesoft, has not yet revealed the name of the infrastructure partner for the European project. However, Conway did say vendor-specific ASPs such as eCentre will bring about the demise of the unprofitable independent ASP sector. He said: "No ASPs are making a profit. In the long term, it's unclear if there will be any independents, because where's the margin? We can operate an ASP at a loss to reach a new market because we still get the licence fee for the software."