Strategic Tool for Assessment of the Supply and Demand Relationship between ASPs and SMEs for Competitive Advantage

摘要

Competitive organisations must be able to manage and implement successful IS strategies. In an effort to create more effective information systems organisations are turning to Application Service Providers (ASPs) because they claim to be able to offer cheap, effective applications and services for many companies irrespective of their size. Many companies have been drawn by these claims only to be disappointed with the results. This paper aims to give clarity and structure to the process of selecting an ASP by employing an ASP Wheel Metaphor that assists in determining the necessity or otherwise of choosing an ASP. Two companies are provided as case studies for the application of this wheel to give an insight into how an organisation may decide on how to change its IS strategy.