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ASP
Tools for Software Development
Franco Martinig, Editor of Methods & Tools
www.methodsandtools.com
What is an Applications Services Provider?
Once upon a time, when computers where so expensive that
not all companies could afford them, most of the processing
was performed by specialised firms that will rent computer
time and services. Some of these organisations have a long
history of providing such services like for instance ADP.
The development of Internet and Web-based applications has
offered these firms a new infrastructure to offer theirs
services and these companies are known now as Applications
Services Provider (ASP). ASPs provide mainly software applications
for the basic business functions of a company: human resources,
accounting or customer relations, but there are also some
organisations targeting the software development domain.
The ASP model was presented at the end of last centur y
as a major trend in the software market. This situation
is confirmed when you research on the Net about ASPs. You
will find a lot of material dated from the years 2000 and
2001 with impressive growth rate predictions from the traditional
research firms. In 1999, Dataquest predicted that ASP revenues
would top $22 billion by 2003. In 2001, the Gartner Group
estimated ASP revenues at $2.1 billion and predicted that
this number would climb to $7.3 billion in 2003. These were
the days where you have to be in B2B segment, before the
burst of the Internet bubble reduced the anticipated growth
rate. Many companies operating in this area have been considered
cautiously as their survival capability was questioned.
Even if there have been some costly failures, like for instance
Pandesic (a joint venture between Intel and SAP), this market
is still alive. According to IDC, companies spent more than
$2.3 billion in 2002 for software delivered as services.
Selling software as services is still an interesting idea
for vendors that prefer a continuous revenue stream to variable licence deals. Software vendors like Oracle or SAP and systems
integrators like EDS or IBM are also playing a larger role
in this market. Siebel recently bought hosted CRM vendor
UpShot for $70 million, even if it has already its own service,
Siebel CRM OnDemand, in association with IBM. Peoplesoft
added last month to its hosted software offerings the applications
acquired through JD Edwards buyout. The company announced
having about 60 customers us ing its hosted services. In
a worldwide study of the ASP Industry Consortium conducted
in 2001, only 8% of the respondents were using an ASP application.
Other surveys performed in 2000 and 2001 showed that between
26% and 31% of US businesses were using an ASP. The applications
mostly used in 2001 were communication (e-mail, groupware)
34%, finance 25%, e-commerce (21%) and CRM (19%). In 2000,
90% of ASP users said that the service level agreement provided
by their suppliers meets their needs. In the business functions
market, ASPs can offer third-party "branded" solutions
like Oracle, Peoplesoft or SAP products, but in the software
development segment, companies offer mainly their own solution.
Some tools are provided only on a web- hosted basis. Other
companies have developed web-based tools and offer hosting.
Hosting is either managed by the tool vendor or by another
firm specialised in web hosting. There are commercial services
offered on a monthly/project/user fee, but you will also
find some services available for free, either completely
or on a limited functionality basis. In this article we
will mainly focus on companies that offer externally hosted
software development tools on a commercial basis. ASP tools
for software development target currently primarily functions
that request collaboration or centralisation of data, like
project management and bug tracking for instance. We can
however expect that in near future more external services
could be available for activities like code validation,
code refactoring or language translation. These are the
kind of activities than could use a tool on a rental basis.
The current market trend
There are many different views on the current trend for
the ASP market. Here are how some vendors that are or have
been active in the ASP market see it, sorted in ascending
order of positive view. "Hosted solutions will continue
to struggle because they are hard to sell and administer,
" Simon Galbraith, Red Gate Software "Most companies
prefer to run the software themselves as there are security
concerns that they are worried about. A big problem we have
is that we are not an established brand, and some people
have problems with trusting the intellectual property with
us. Therefore the uptake on hosted solutions is a lot less."
Andrew Thomas, Inobyte Ltd "It seems to be the case
that there are legitimate reasons to want either solution.
Given that the different needs are driven more by overall
IT strategy (more control with inhouse solutions, more flexibility
and less maintenance with hosted ones) rather than by specific
technologies, it seems likely this separation will continue.
Non-browser-based applications, by comparison, must either
come to use the Internet in the same way that browser-based
applications do or die out because of their disadvantages
in terms of collaboration and availability. Luc Reid, Vermont
Software Testing Group "For a variety of reasons, some
companies still prefer to implement in- house solutions.
Over the past few years, we have seen a steady increase
in new customers who are looking for a short-term hosted
solution which can be implemented while they continue their
evaluation of in- house enterprise-wide solutions"
Krishen Kota, AdminiTrack.com " On a wide scale, hosted
software is continually gaining traction. However, there
are companies for which it makes sense for them to host
their own software. It is generally a balance between the
business case and the comfort level of the IT department.
Very often, a happy medium can be worked out. " Mark
Phillips, Standpipe Studios, L.L.C.. "There has been
an interesting uptick in client signups with the service
over the past 3 quarters. I am currently attributing this
spike in activity to the many technical people who have
been out of work for 6-12 months. Instead of finding new
jobs with established companies, I believe that they are
now starting up their own software companies. This effect
has been especially noticeable in the United States, where
the economy has been depressed for the past 2-3 years.
As
new start- ups, these small companies can ill afford to
spend the time and money necessary to maintain their own
source code control system. SourceHosting.Net fits their
budget, so I believe we will help a large number of these
early-stage start-ups during the initial product development
phase. Even after that initial phase is complete, our clients
typically stay with us because of the cost savings compared
to hosting a source code repository internally and dedicating
time and resources to maintaining it." Greg Larkin,
SourceHosting.Net "At first, we expected only smaller
companies and start-ups to use the ExtraView hosted solution
rather that the in- house solution. We assumed that teams
with smaller budgets would be inclined to use a pay-as-you-go
plan in order to preserve cash flow. However, we found that
it was the larger companies that preferred to cut server,
database and maintenance costs and go with a secure hosted
solution.
Larger companies understood that their data is
more secure on our collocation servers and were comfortable
with our hosted security, reliability, and availability."
Michael Stebbins, Sesame.com "At the present time IT
community is shifting dramatically toward hosted solutions.
As Internet infrastructure will grow further, this process
will accelerate." Val Karmazin, eBUGtrack.com As you
can see the answers differ sometimes considerably. This
difference can also be attributed to the type of services
offered by the ASP. I think that two current trends can
favourably influence the ASP market for software development
tools: · The growing importance of geographically
dispersed teams and collaboration between different organisations.
As Internet becomes the place to share information and tools,
hosted solutions provide the advantage of neutrality. ·
The benefit seen by management in ready-to-use short-term
solutions. ASP solutions could be readily usable and their
monthly fees allow a precise management of direct costs.
Working with an ASP
Working with an ASP could gives specific advantages, but
also carries some risks. Here some of the differences between
externally hosted tools and an internally managed solution
Specific advantages of ASP
Faster evolution of the product: instead of having to distribute
patches or upgrades, the supplier can work directly on the
centralised product. · Easier cost identification:
all direct costs related to the tool are on your ASP bill.
· Unique channel for all application support issues:
your vendor cannot argue that the tool doesn't work because
you have installed it with an OS or a database version that
is not supported. · Formally negotiated service level
agreement: you can set application availability levels and
support response-time objectives... and discuss penalties
in cases these objectives are not achieved. ·
Smaller
initial investment: ASP products are often billed with a
monthly fee payment scheme. You don't have to make an important
up-front purchase investment. · Neutral solution
for multi-organisation projects: if you collaborate with
external organisations, an ASP provides a neutral ground
to work with. It will also eliminate the problem of having
outsiders accessing your information system to share one
of your tools. Finally it can also be abandoned after the
project completion if it is not needed. · Trial period
for new software: if the vendor offer to sell or host its
solutions, using the hosted solution initially can allow
to seriously test the software and the vendor support before
buying it and installing it internally.
Risks associated to ASP
External storage of data: your data is not on your hardware
and you have less control on its management and who can
access it. · Greater dependability on the supplier:
if there is a serious problem with your ASP company (or
the company your tool supplier use to host its services),
you will not be in the situation where you have an application
without support like internally managed apps. Access to
your application and your data can be reduced or suppressed.
· Sharing resources: processing power, bandwidth
and support have to be shared between each ASP's customers
that could have their own priorities, needs and agenda.
If the number of customers increase, performance could suffer.
Technical problems could also arise from many instance of
the same application running on the same machine. ·
Internet related availability risks: even if things work
usually fine, accessing net servers is always subject to
specific risks like viruses or denial of services attacks.
Some question that you can ask when you choose an ASP ·
Is the hosting managed internally or performed by a third-party
hosting company? · What are the security features
of the application? · How is your data handled and
what are the means you have for accessing it? · Are
special measures (availability of source code for instance)
provided in case of difficulties of the supplier? ·
What are the metrics for measuring the service level? ·
How much can I customise the application to satisfy my particular
needs? · Would it be possible to bring the application
internally again? Is there another exit strategy? ·
What are the staffing levels and the technical expertise
of the supplier's staff? The data problem Security of the
data is the most important potential issue for companies
using an ASP and vendors have put in place different measures
to answer these fears: · Extended security administration
· Encrypted data communication · Regular back-up
· Functions to export data · Availability
levels guaranteed in SLA (Service Level Agreements) The
overall message from ASP to prospective customers is that
their data will be handled as good or better than in their
internal data centre, because they are specialised in managing
web-hosted applications. Many ASP offer a trial period,
it could be wise to try before you buy.
What can you get?
You will find on Internet four major areas where web-hosted
software development tools are available: · Bug and
defect tracking · Project management/collaboration
· Performance/monitoring/testing/checking of web
applications · Source hosting/configuration management
Bug and defect tracking Bug and defect tracking is one of
the main areas for software development tools ASP. This
can be explained by the development of many web-based tools
in this area in recent years. External hosting of these
tools was a natural extension for the development companies.
This is also a function closely related to customer care
(CRM) applications and external (Web) access could be part
of the requirements. There is also a tendency to have multiple
teams working on the same project, either to minimise costs
or to find external competencies. Finally, the open source
movement has completely integrated these activities, the
main tool being provided by Bugzilla.org.
Available services:
Track components and versions, incidents, bugs or issues
· Configurable workflow-based, alternate, multiple,
and client approval policies · Time-based escalation
of defect priority · Automatic defect assignment
routing · User-defined entry forms, fields, alerts,
and notifications · Configurable email notification
schemes · Attach files notes, documents, and links
to items · Defect change history and audit trail
Project management and collaboration
Collaboration is a main issue of distributed teams since
the Lotus Notes era of specific collaboration software.
The widespread diffusion of the Internet has changed the
vision of the market, but the needs remain the same. Many
ASPs offer services related to distributed software project
management.
Available services:
Planning: Gantt, WBS Charts, critical path analysis ·
Calendars · Tasks · Issue management ·
Risk management · Resource management · Time,
billing, cost and rate management · Discussions forum
management · Files and document management ·
Security · MS Project integration · Office
software integration · Email notifications and alerts
· Project dashboard reports · Project analysis
Testing web applications
If you develop a web-based application, it is not always
easy to test internally your web site. There are so many
web standards and particularities (different browsers for
instance) that it can be helpful to be assisted by dedicated
external test teams or software. After production release,
external monitoring can help to monitor how a possible customer
in Berlin can access your web site in LA as the database
gets loaded with data.
Available services:
Download and verify pages · Error diagnostics ·
Performance tracking · Screenshots of errors ·
Contact escalation levels · Unlimited mobile alerts
· Interactive reports · Performance of Web
transactions · Transaction availability ·
Changes in Web site content · Secure page performance
· Redirection sequences · CGI queries ·
Authentication
Source hosting and configuration management
This is a strange area of the web-hosted software
tools market. This kind of application is now widely adopted
by all open source projects, but the market for commercial
projects seems more underground and it could be difficult
to find suppliers in this area. There is still reticence
from companies to let intellectual property like software
code in the hands of third party. Some providers in this
area are simply providing a hosted version and support of
the open source CVS tool (http://www.cvshome.org/)
Available services: ·
Importing and exporting files · Merge of concurrent
modifications on same files with conflict warnings ·
Versioning · User management
Conclusion
In these days, the availability of software through the
Web is a considered as natural, even if this trend is still
relatively weak in the area of software management and development
tools. Security and data availability are still major issues
when deciding to use a web-hosted tool versus an internally
managed solution. As confidence will increase that hosting
companies can provide adequate answers to these concerns
and a good level of support, I think that web- hosted software
development tools will become a naturally accepted alternative
solution to internally managed tools. The tendency to charge
internal IT infrastructure costs on specific projects will
also improve the comparison between internal management
and externally hosting of applications. For some companies,
the most important trend is toward web-based applications.
Suppliers develop products to adhere to this architecture,
so you can choose to install them internally or use them
as externally hosted solutions. For the vendors, this is
a nice way to play on both markets. For the customers, this
could be a safer way to buy ASP services, because it could
provide an exit strategy with internalisation.
References
Specific software development ASP sites dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/Web_Design_and_Development/Hosted_Components_and_Services/
Site_Management/dmoz.org/Computers/Software/Configuration_Management/Bug_Tracking/Hosted
www.web-based-software.com General ASP sites directory.google.com/Top/Computers/Software/Business/ECommerce/
Business-to-Business/Application-Service- Providers Google
reference for ASP info www.allaboutasp.org Industry group.
CompTIA's Software Services Group Formerly known as the
ASP Industry Consortium (ASPIC), CompTIA's Software Services
Group is a global advocacy group www.applicationserviceproviders.com
ASP portal www.asperado.com ASP portal www.aspnews.com ASP
portal www.aspstreet.com ASP portal www.hostingtech.com
Hostingtech magazine www.theaspexchange.com ASP portal www.webharbor.com
ASP portal www.nwfusion.com/research/asp.html ASP news and
research
Acknowledgements
Although I assume complete responsibility of the above text,
I would like to thank the following persons for their contribution
to the development of this article Person Company Web site
Krishen Kota AdminiTrack.com www.adminitrack.com Andrew
Thomas Inobyte Ltd www.inobyte.com Ian Harrison MJI Consulting
www.mjiteamworks.com Simon Galbraith Red Gate Software www.red-gate.com
Michael Stebbins Sesame Technology www.sesame.com Val Karmazin
SkyeyTech, Inc www.eBUGtrack.com Greg Larkin SourceHosting.Net,
LLC www.sourcehosting.net Mark Phillips Standpipe Studios,
L.L.C.. www.vertabase.com Luc Reid Vermont Software Testing
Group www.software-testers.com/dragon |
