Marc E. Gartenfeld

How to choose an ASP: selection guidelines

The great promise of software‐as‐a‐service lies in its ability to deliver at a much lower cost and at much greater speed. In the future, software will be delivered in such a way that business customers can pick and choose entire applications or parts of them, paying on a per‐use or subscription basis. To fulfill this need, a new type of business enterprise has arisen, application service providers (ASPs). This paper identifies various success factors, or best practices selection guidelines, potential ASP customers/users should consider when choosing an ASP. These success factors were developed – using experiences of successful ASPs presented in groups based on their underlying business models – from customer requirements, a major driver in the ASP market.

Intranets as Part of an E-Business Strategy

Summary form only given. This paper provides an overview of one the fastest growing segments of the Web environment - the Intranet. Discussions include what an Intranet is (definition), its uses and benefits (both general and specific), its challenges and critical issues (both organizational and technical), as well as future trends (both short-term and mid- to long-term). In addition, throughout this paper the position and vital role the Intranet plays as part of a companys e-Business strategy is highlighted. The same concepts and technologies of the Internet, such as clients and servers, are used to build an Intranet. HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) and other Internet protocols, especially FTP (File Transfer Protocol) and SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), which is often used for email, are commonly utilized as well.

Best Practices Guidelines for Successfully Managing Application Service Providers (ASPs)

The purpose of this article is to identify various factors of success that can assist managers of Application Service Providers (ASPs) to develop and expand their firms’ businesses. These success factors are presented in the form of best practices guidelines, which have been developed from successful ASP experiences, and which are discussed in detail here. The discussion on successful ASPs, ranging across all ASP business models, focuses on meeting the customer requirements of ASPs—a major driver in the ASP market.

The Relation of Partner Entrepreneurial Characteristics to Strategic Alliance Success: A Comparative US-China Study

Strategic alliances are most often entrepreneurial ventures. The task of finding an effective entrepreneurial multinational alliance partner involves identifying (1) entrepreneurial requirements in the situation under study; (2) ways to find, match and select partners that fit these requirements; and (3) ways to build an effective alliance management structure that suits all partners and strategic and operational business requirements. Based on work done in developing alliances and conducting executive workshops in China, and established entrepreneurship theory, this article identifies ways to improve chances of success when entering multinational strategic alliances in China through more effective partner selection, nurturing and management.