Web Based Services: An Empirical Study of their Adoption and Penetration

Application service providers (ASPs) and web services are becoming an increasingly popular alternative to selling software the traditional, “shrink-wrapped” way. This paper presents the results of an empirical study of the German ASP market. We surveyed a representative sample of companies traded on the German equivalent of Nasdaq. We asked questions about the companies’ expectations and practical experiences with ASP-based services. The results confirm that ASPs are definitely on the rise. However, several problems remain. Most potential customers are concerned about the confidential treatment of their data once it has been transferred to the ASP site. Quality of service and maintenance need to be agreed upon in advance, in contractual form. Finally, numerous potential customers have problems understanding the ASPs’ offerings in sufficient detail. A more transparent marketing, coupled with a more personalized sales approach, should be a major concern for the ASP industry as a whole. The results of our study should be of interest both to ASP companies, to help them improve their services, and to IT management as a whole to help them decide which (if any) of their enterprise functions would gain from using ASPs

Continuous Quality Improvement of IT Processes based on Reference Models and Process Mining

The inherent quality of business processes increasingly plays a significant role in the economic success of an organization. More and more business processes are supported through IT processes. In this contribution, we present a new approach which allows the continuous quality improvement of IT processes by the interconnection of IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) reference model and process mining. On the basis of the reference model, to-be processes are set and key indicators are determined. As-is processes and their key indicators derived by process mining are subsequently compared to the to-be processes. This new approach enables the design and control of ITIL based customer support processes which will be trialed in a practice case of a customer relationship management (CRM) system. The procedural models, as well as its results, are introduced in this publication

Business Models for ASP Marketplaces

ASP (Application Server Provider) marketplaces provide a fundamental alternative to the classical business model of software licensing. At this point, it is still unclear why and when customers prefer the ASP model over more traditional approaches. To make ASP more attractive, more knowledge about possible pricing and product strategies is needed. In this paper we describe different business models for ASP marketplaces. We first compare the cost structures of the classical licensing model with the new server-based approach. Then we illustrate how price and product differentiation may improve overall market efficiency. In particular, we show that by selling different software versions for different prices, ASP marketplaces may obtain near-optimal revenues with products that are relatively inexpensive, disaggregated, and customizable. Consumers can thus choose between a wide variety of product lines to fit their differing budgets and requirements

Netzbasierte Dienste

Die vorliegende Dissertation präsentiert eine umfassende Analyse und Strukturierung des Marktes für netzbasierte Dienste. Basierend auf einer detaillierten Untersuchung des ASP-Angebotes und der ASP-Nachfrage in Europa werden geeignete Institutionen und Informationssubstitute für die Anpassung (Matching) des ASP-Angebotes und der ASP-Nachfrage identifiziert und getestet. Die Strukturierung der Angebotsseite umfasst neben der Bewertung der Marktlage die Entwicklung der ASP-Wertschöpfungskette, die Einordnung in die Systematik der digitalen Güter, die Beschreibung der ASP-Technologien und -Geschäftsmodelle und den Vergleich des ASP-Geschäftsmodells mit der klassischen Softwarenutzung und dem Konzept der virtuellen Organisationen. Die Ergebnisse der Untersuchungen zeigen vorhandene Defizite in der Informations- und Kommunikationspolitik der ASP-Angebotsseite auf. Für die Strukturierung der Nachfrageseite für netzbasierte Dienste werden die Theorien der Auslagerung (Outsourcing) von Informationstechnologien, die Methoden und Instrumente der Kosten- und Nutzenmessung und die Theorie der Transaktionsphasen der Auslagerung angewendet. Kern der wissenschaftlichen Untersuchung bildet die empirische Untersuchung des ASP-Nachfragemarktes in Deutschland und anderen europäischen Ländern. Die Erkenntnisse der Analyse des ASP-Angebotes und der ASP-Nachfrage werden gegenübergestellt und Methoden zur Abstimmung von ASP-Angebot und Nachfrage mit Hilfe der Transaktionskostentheorie und den Theorien der Informations- und Institutionenökonomie abgeleitet. Barrieren, Intransparenzen und Informationsasymmetrien werden auf beiden Seiten aufgezeigt und darauf aufbauend Informationssubstitute für netzbasierte Dienste identifiziert. Erfahrungs- und Vertrauenseigenschaften werden mit Hilfe von Informationssubstituten in einem Onlinebefragungsexperiment hinsichtlich der Wahrnehmung, Wirkung und möglicher Zahlungsbereitschaften überprüft. Aus den Ergebnissen des Onlinebefragungsexperimentes werden Anforderungen an die Informations- und Kommunikationspolitik und Strategien zur Reduzierung der Informationsasymmetrie für netzbasierte Dienste entwickelt. Das Ergebnis der Arbeit ist die Ableitung relevanter Kriterien für die Darstellung und Bewertung der Leistungsbündel netzbasierter Dienste und die Entwicklung von Strategien zur Reduzierung der Transaktionsunsicherheit durch die Identifizierung und Integration von Informationssubstituten für netzbasierte Dienste.This dissertation presents a comprehensive analysis and conceptual framework of the web-based Application Service Provider (ASP) market. Based on a detailed analysis of ASP supply and demand in Europe, appropriate institutions and information substitutes for the matching process on the ASP market are identified and evaluated. The conceptual framework for the supply side is developed by evaluating the market situation, designing an ASP value chain, classifying digital goods, describing the ASP technologies and business models. These are then compared with the classic model of software utilization and the concept of virtual organizations. The results indicate present deficits in the supply-side information and communication policy. For ASP demand, theories of outsourcing of information technologies, methods and instruments of cost-and-utility-measuring and the theory of transaction phases of outsourcing are used. The basis for both supply-side and demand-side evaluations is an empirical analysis of the European ASP market. We compare the outcome of the supply and demand analyses and derive methods for their coordination by the transaction cost theory and the theories of information and institution economy. Barriers, lack of transparencies and information asymmetries are identified on both sides and thus, information substitutes for web-based services are developed. Information substitutes for experience and trust characteristics are evaluated with an online-questionnaire completed by key participants based on their perception, action and willingness to pay. From those results, we deduce strategies for reducing the information asymmetry. The result of the work is the deduction of relevant criteria for the presentation and evaluation for the supply of web-based services and the development of strategies for reducing the transaction uncertainty by identifying and integrating information substitutes

Service Oriented IT Management: Benefit, Cost and Success Factors

Due to an enhanced customer focus in the planning, development and delivery of IT services, service-oriented IT management has become increasingly important. This paper investigates to what effect service-oriented IT management has already been put into place in European companies. Benefit and cost categories of integrating service-oriented principles into IT management processes are analyzed. Additionally success factors for implementing serviceoriented IT management are investigated. For this purpose, six case studies were conducted. The situation of IT management before and after implementation was analyzed and comments are made on the corresponding transformation projects. Based on the case studies, this paper shows three typical benefit categories of service-oriented IT management. Eight cost categories for implementing and operating service-oriented IT management processes are discussed and six success factors of pertinent re-organization projects are identified. Findings can serve as guidelines for other IT organizations and can be used as enabler for getting informed decisions regarding the initiation of service-oriented IT management. Finally, the article highlights four current trends for service-oriented IT management and further research is outlined

Pricing Web Services

This paper focuses on the challenges associated with composing and pricing web services. We present the results of an online experiment, where subjects were confronted with a variety of choices and decisions relating to web service markets and service composition. Our analysis shows that people expect the price of a composite web service to be lower than the sum of the prices of the elementary services, that is, users are not willing to pay for aggregation by a third party. To obtain a viable business model for composite web services, non-standard pricing mechanisms, such as auctions and negotiations, possibly supported by electronic agents, have to be taken into consideration. Usage-based pricing schemes, combined with an option to switch to a flat subscription, seem most appropriate to penetrate the developing market for web services.Peer Reviewe

Different Approaches to Evaluation of Information Systems

Outsourcing has been one of the most influential factors contributing to changes in information systems development in the last decade. The paper presents findings from an action research project of information systems development in an outsourcing context at a large university hospital in Denmark. The research, and general findings in the literature, indicates that the intended positive effects of outsourcing are hard to achieve without negative bi-products. Decision frameworks to guide the decision-making in this respect are evaluated based on the empirical findings. It is illustrated that the issues of flexibility and controllability are among the most important when an IT-department determines its outsourcing policies. Continuity issues are also important in understanding the relationship between buyer and seller in IS-acquisition as being more complex than in a simple market model