ASP newcomer snaps up business with guarantee

A new entrant to the ASP market has thrown down the gauntlet to its competitors over service level agreements (SLAs), and said it is snapping up clients as a result.

IProvide claims it is the first ASP to put its money where its mouth is, and guarantee customers 100 per cent availability of services during contracted hours. The ASP has said that during this time it will incur financial penalties should it fail to deliver applications over the internet.

The company's business development officer, Tim Edwards, said he expected other providers to follow iProvide's lead. "Up until now customers haven't been getting guarantees of uptime. We believe more ASPs will have to follow our lead."

Jonathan Tee, research analyst at Analysys Research, said: "My sense is that 100 per cent SLA may not be the spur to take-up, as it seems very much a hostage to fortune.

"ASPs pitching their SLAs based on an 'it's better than a company could provide itself' basis - as company computer systems are by no means free of downtime - combined with guaranteeing services to the desktop and providing at least duplicate means of access in case of a service provider experiencing a failure, is more likely to be effective."

The company will provide dedicated lines to deliver applications to customers' premises.