IDC tracks world ASP leaders

USinternetwork (USi) leads the worldwide application service provider (ASP) market, according to research firm IDC.

With $100m in revenue for 2000, USi ranked first, followed by a tie for second place between TriZetto Group, a vertical ASP focused on the healthcare industry, and database giant Oracle, each with $54m in revenue.

USi spokeswoman Laura Taylor said that although the company does not have any UK-headquartered companies as its customers, 60 per cent of its customer base comes from enterprise clients which are global companies and have international needs.

Interliant was placed fourth with $49m in revenue, and Quest Cyber.Solutions was fifth with $46m. IDC measured revenue, customer numbers, average contract size and other factors to rank the companies.

Rounding out the top 10 were Corio in sixth place with $43m, followed by eOnline with $27m, IBM with $26m and SureBridge and EDS with $25m each.

Meredith Whalen, director of ASP and internet services at IDC, explained that this is the first time IDC has released rankings for companies in the ASP market. She said that, despite a rocky few months for the companies involved, the industry is not dead.

Separately, IDC also reported that many IT vendors are creating ASP migration programmes hoping to reap the rewards that working with ASPs can bring, while limiting the risks to their own businesses.

These migration programmes are designed to assist ASPs to enter the market and to grow their business with a minimum investment from IT vendors, according to IDC.

"As they enter these programmes, ASPs need to keep in mind that their interests may not be truly aligned with the sponsoring vendor's since the primary purpose of these programmes is for vendors to sell more products and services to them," said IDC analyst Nicole Weber.