There's just one change to the Top 20 list of ASPs this month ... but that rumbling you can hear in the distance is the sound of an approaching horde of contenders. In fact, while only one new company cracked the list in November, several stand on the cusp. Whether any of those is strong enough to knock off one of the top 20 is the question for December.
Appshop is this month's newcomer. Arguably the most
successful of all enterprise ASPs, Appshop has sustained
its progress by a single-minded focus on an all-Oracle product
line, and on working closely with the Oracle direct sales force.
Indeed, there's some evidence that Appshop has actually
won sales away from Oracle's in-house ASP operation,
Oracle.com, purely on its ability to move fast and thus help
close a sale.
Like many Bay Area ASPs, Appshop
lost customers to the dot-com and telecoms industry collapse,
it has recovered well and last month reported winning its
100th ASP customer, putting it well ahead of better-known
rivals such as Corio and USi in terms of customer numbers.
The privately held company does not publish revenues.
Making way for Appshop is OpenAir, which, despite continued
development of its product set and customer base, has fallen
behind the pace set by others and thus no longer passes the
threshold required to maintain its position in the Top 20.
What is the ASPnews Top 20?
All entries in the Top 20 ASPs and the Top 20 ASP Infrastructure Providers lists are drawn from the ASP Industry Global 200 Directory, as published monthly by ASP News Review, the executive newsletter for the worldwide ASP and Web services industry.
The companies are selected based on several factors. Sheer size is just one parameter, which is weighted along with more qualitative assessments, such as respect among peers and talent to innovate within the ASP model as defined by ASPnews (see The ASP Value Chain for a detailed description).
Such a fate hangs over other members of the Top 20 list,
including several of the best-known enterprise ASPs.
If the Top 20 were a ranking, then USi would have slipped
perhaps as many as 10 places as a result of the news
last month of its proposed rescue by Bain Capital, along with
Q3 financials that showed a shrinking customer base and
just a single new customer win.
On the Infrastructure Side
Despite divine's announcement that it is to acquire Data Return,
the latter remains in our Top 20 infrastructure list until the
acquisition closes (the doubts over the proposed Hewlett Packard-Compaq
merger demonstrate that acquisitions don't always close).
Also, based on this morning's announcement that Qwest Communications is transferring
its Exchange hosting services to subsidiary ASP Qwest Cyber Solutions, we will be re-examining's Qwest's place on the infrastructure list in December.
Top 20 ASPs
This is the list of companies that, in the view of ASPnews, are the world's 20 leading ASPs. For inclusion, companies must meet the following criteria:
Have ASP and/or Web services as their core business
Have a substantial and active customer base
Be able to demonstrate proven revenue streams
Be innovators within the ASP and/or Web services models
Be recognized as a leader by others within the industry
These are the 20 companies that, in the view of ASPnews, are the most influential providers of software or infrastructure for the ASP and Web services industry. For inclusion, companies must meet the following criteria:
Have a substantial and active customer base of ASPs and/or Web service providers
Be active in their support and promotion of the ASP and/or Web services model
Be innovators within the ASP and/or Web services models
Be recognized as a leader by others within the industry
What do you think of our choices? What ASPs and infrastructure providers are missing that deserve to be here? And what companies do you think made that list that shouldn't have? Critique our selections — or make your own list — in the ASP Discussion Forum.
