Internet.com buys ASPnews.com
Jan 31st 2000: Internet news and information provider internet.com announced the acquisition today of ASPnews.com, publisher of the ASPnews.com website, the ASP News Review industry newsletter, and associated publications for the ASP community. Internet.com is a leading news and information resource for the Internet industry. Its 93 websites form a network of vertical communities for Internet professionals worldwide, including the Internet business news service internetnews.com. "Internet.com is a perfect match for ASPnews.com," said ASPnews.com managing editor Phil Wainewright, adding that the acquisition will enable the site to bring forward enhanced services for readers and subscribers. Wainewright and co-founder Olga Ojogina have both joined internet.com to continue their work on ASPnews.com. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
� internet.com
� Announcement press release

Breakaway buys Eggrock
Jan 28th 2000: The first large-scale merger of two ASPs was announced yesterday when Nasdaq-listed Breakaway Solutions (ticker: BWAY) announced the purchase of Boston area neighbour and fellow-ASP Eggrock Partners. The all-share transaction was valued at approximately $250m. The two companies, both systems integrators with growing ASP operations, share a common specialism in customer relationship management and ebusiness solutions, and were both charter participants in CRM vendor Onyx Software's early ASP programme, unveiled last April. Privately-owned Eggrock, which recruited ASP Industry Consortium vice-chair Paula Hunter from Compaq last October to head up an expanded ASP unit, almost doubles Breakaway's ASP division headcount from 30 to 58, out of a total 516 employees in the merged business. Breakaway CEO Gordon Brooks said the merger would enable the company to expand its operations into Europe later this year, one year earlier than originally planned. Eggrock founder and CEO Maureen Ellenberger will become Chief Innovation Officer once the acquisition is closed, which is expected in April this year.
� See related ASP News Review stories, Breakaway IPO outruns USi's (Oct 7th) and Onyx embraces ASP channel (Apr 10th)
� Breakaway Solutions
� Eggrock Partners

Platform vendor hosts itself
Jan 25th 2000: NewMoon.com became the first ASP infrastructure vendor to offer its platform as a hosted service yesterday. The turnkey service for independent software vendors and ASPs allows them to offer hosted Windows applications to customers under their own branding. �We think that private labelling is a very important element in the ASP market moving forward," director of marketing Stuart Freiman told ASP News Review in a pre-launch briefing. The underlying technology, developed by NewMoon.com, distributes Windows applications so that they execute in the data centre while the user interface runs on the desktop PC. The approach differs from the more established Windows terminal model in that it leaves processes such as mouse control and screen redrawing on the client. NewMoon.com claims it can implement applications on its infrastructure hosting service in a matter of weeks. The service, colocated at AboveNet and Exodus, includes a range of ASP management functions including user authentication, server load balancing, systems management and usage metering.
� Read more about NewMoon's platform in January's ASP News Review newsletter ... click here>>
� NewMoon.com

Dell chips in for CenterBeam
Jan 18th 2000: Subscription computing provider CenterBeam announced $41m in new funding today, including $6m in equipment financing from PC manufacturer Dell. The remaining $35m second round equity finance came from a strong cast of venture capital and IT industry backers, including Microsoft, Intel and Dell, bringing total financing so far to more than $60m. CenterBeam, founded by former USWeb co-founder and CTO Sheldon Laube, provides a complete, remotely-managed IT infrastructure to small and medium-size businesses on a monthly subscription basis. The service includes provision of client desktops and laptop PCs, and acts as a portal into other ASP services. As part of the Dell investment, the Santa Clara CA-based startup is standardising on the manufacturer's products both for client machines and as the server platform in its own data centre. It will use the funds to expand beyond its California base into other US metropolitan centres, as well as preparing for marketing associated with the February launch of Microsoft Windows 2000, which it has already adopted as its standard operating environment. (Report by Paul DeGroot)
� Read more about CenterBeam's distinctive approach in February's ASP News Review newsletter ... click here>>
� CenterBeam

New ASP bid for Pegasus
Jan 14th 2000: UK ecommerce startup freecom.net aims to shortcut its transformation into a small business ASP following a £45.8m (US$73.3m) bid for UK accounting software vendor Pegasus Group, announced Tuesday (Jan 11th). In the process, it looks set to elbow aside an earlier £30m (US$48m) agreed bid for London stockmarket-listed Pegasus (ticker: PGG) from Solution 6, the Australian software vendor and ASP. Oxford-based freecom.net provides ecommerce site development and hosting services to just over 100 small and medium-size businesses, and in November launched a new self-build online storefront service based on Germany- and US-based vendor Intershop's ecommerce platform. The provider's own proprietary software enables transactions carried out on the Internet to be processed by clients' own accounting, stock control and other back office software. A successful bid for Pegasus will enable it to offer an integrated front and back office product online, it said. To raise additional funds to develop, deliver and market ASP products, it plans to sell off Pegasus' PC-based accounting software product if its bid is successful. Freecom.net raised almost £20m (US$32m) December in an initial offering on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM). The company (ticker: FEE), which has so far signed up 450 customers for its free storefront service, is now capitalised at about £123m (US$197m). The new all-share offer has already led potential suitor Sage Group plc (ticker: SGE) to rule out any bid for Pegasus, and is likely to torpedo the earlier bid by Australian accounting software house Solution 6, which is said to be planning a Nasdaq listing this quarter. (Report by Paul Rubens)
� See related ASP News Review story, ASP rivals face bid battle (Dec 22nd)
� freecom.net
� Pegasus

Fujitsu Siemens targets ASPs
Jan 7th 2000: Europe's largest computer manufacturer, Fujitsu Siemens, announced its entry into the ASP market this week with the unveiling of ASPect, an initiative designed to help it become the number one supplier of servers to European ASPs. As the first step in the programme, it announced the opening of a European ASP Competence Centre in Munich to help ISVs Web-enable their applications for ASP delivery. Due to become operational before the end of the quarter, the centre will offer development, benchmarking and testing services and provide certification both of packaged applications and of specific implementations. With the stated aim of winning �250m (US$257m) in ASP-related revenues by 2003, the company expects the ASP sector to account for significant volumes of its Intel and SPARC-based servers. Headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Fujitsu Siemens Computers was formed last October as a joint venture between the Japanese and German computing giants, pooling their European computing operations. It is currently ranked second in Europe by units and third by revenues, after Compaq and IBM.
� Fujitsu Siemens Computers
� ASPect press release

Baan to launch Indian ASP
Jan 5th 2000: Baan Info Systems India is to launch its own ASP operation to kickstart the Indian market for ASP offerings based on its applications. The Indian subsidiary of enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendor The Baan Company will set up the venture this quarter, its CEO D. Bharath told ASP News Review yesterday. It had hoped to persuade local partners to set up ASP services of their own, but has grown impatient with the lack of progress. The ASP business in India has been slow to take off as investors are uncertain about customer acceptance, whether they should use the Internet or leased lines to connect to customers, and the consequent cost and pricing models that will make the business viable. Bharath said the leased line based ASP operation will serve as a proof-of-concept for the company's partners, and will later transfer its customers to the partners. "We would prefer that our current partners took up the ASP business because they have a track record in customizing and implementing Baan applications," he added. Baan hopes offering its applications on a subscription basis will attract small users with up to around 30 seats, who have until now found the upfront cost of ERP solutions prohibitive. Baan's pricing will be based on number of seats, though partner ASPs will have the option of charging a transaction-based fee. Baan partners are already offering ASP services in other geographies, including Hong Kong, France and North America. (Report by John Ribeiro)
� See related ASP News Review story, Baan readies rental launch (Jun 9th)
� The Baan Company