The Dubai-based ASPGulf Company, an application service provider, has announced it will initiate hosting services targeted to meeting the needs of Oracle ISVs (Independent Solution Vendors) in the region. ASPGulf will effectively enable each ISV to become its own 'virtual ASP'. Oracle has said it will focus on four vertical markets in the region: Construction, Health, Hospitality and Automotive.
The ASP model is built around delivering software and hardware services on a rental basis for a monthly fee. For many Middle East companies, the benefits of leasing applications include cost savings and access to sophisticated applications with capabilities that they traditionally couldn’t afford.
The ASP business model allows organizations to escape costly hardware/software investments and upgrade cycles and bring precise and total control of their cost of technology ownership and therefore to focus on their core businesses. According to the ASPGulf release, the Gartner Group forecasts a $23 billion overall growth for the industry by 2003 (from about $900 million in 1998). — (Albawaba-MEBG)
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