Sixty per cent of UK companies hope to use hosted services from application service providers (ASP) in the next 18 months, despite the consensus that adopting the business model would be a 'leap of faith'.

These were the findings of research conducted by reseller Morse and vendor Sun Microsystems, which surveyed 142 IT directors in the UK. Half the respondents cited guaranteed service levels as the main benefit of ASPs, but 44 per cent said ASPs would not deliver the cost savings or service levels claimed by the vendors.

The survey showed there is interest in the ASP model, but Mark Byatt, managing director of Morse, warned there are still concerns about putting business systems in someone else's hands.

Independent research group ASP Community surveyed 110 IT managers in June from predominantly Windows NT shops, and claimed 83 per cent are not planning to adopt ASP solutions in the next six months.

Its report indicated that 29 per cent and 25 per cent of respondents thought that flexibility and centralisation were the main benefits respectively.

First published in Computer Reseller News