ASP (application service providing)
way of the future.. mark my words : )
We are making a rather good deal off it right now.
>Below is a VERY interestint article about Microsoft. Do you think they will
>work with smaller cafes? I wonder how this will affect all of us???
>
>Karen
>
>
>Cybercafe to serve up Microsoft Office suite
>By Melanie Austria Farmer
>Staff Writer, CNET News.com
>October 30, 2000, 9:40 a.m. PT
>update
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>Software giant Microsoft will begin offering consumers for the first time
>its Office software on a pay-per-use basis through a deal with
>EasyEverything cybercafes.
>
>EasyEverything, which operates Internet cafes throughout Europe, will first
>make the Office 2000 software suite available to customers in its New York
>cafe, which is slated to open in Times Square Nov. 28.
>
>Customers will be able to access software such as Microsoft Word, Excel and
>PowerPoint on a pay-per-use basis for a little less than $2 per session,
>EasyEverything said in a statement last week.
>
>Microsoft was not immediately available for comment.
>
>The move follows Microsoft's aggressive efforts in the heavily touted
>application service provider (ASP) market. The software behemoth already
>provides businesses with an option to rent its software through several
>application hosting partners including Corio, FutureLink and others. ASPs
>charge businesses monthly subscriptions for the service to access the
>software from their desktops.
>
>Neil MacDonald, an analyst at Gartner, said the move makes perfect sense.
>"If you're looking to grow in this (ASP) market, the next logical step would
>be to (target) the consumers."
>
>Like many other technology providers including Oracle, SAP and IBM, Redmond,
>Wash.-based Microsoft has made it a top priority to sell its products as a
>service to try to nab recurring revenue streams. Because the ASP market is
>still in its infancy and companies are struggling to increase their customer
>base, MacDonald said the jury is still out on whether consumers will trust
>this new model.
>
>"It's not the technology barriers that Microsoft and other vendors will have
>to overcome (in the ASP market), it's the barriers of culture and
>perception," MacDonald said.
>
>EasyEverything, based in London, said this will be the first time Microsoft
>has allowed its Office software to be rented out to consumers.
>
>The cafe's customers get anywhere from 20 minutes to 6 hours of Internet
>access for about $2, depending on how full the cafe is at the time. The use
>of Microsoft software will carry a fee of about $2, on top of the charge for
>Internet access. The cafe will give customers up to 12 hours of access for
>Microsoft programs.
>
>In addition to being able to access Office 2000 applications, cafe customers
>will also be able to rent Microsoft Works, a software suite for home users,
>and Encarta, the company's encyclopedia application. EasyEverything said it
>will eventually offer Microsoft software as a service in all of its existing
>cafes.
>
>The New York location will contain 800 computers and will be open 24 hours
a
>day. Hewlett-Packard, an investor in EasyEverything, will supply the
>computers and manage the cafe's network connection and backup systems,
>EasyEverything said.
>
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