ASP Industry Consortium Forms New National Committees in Europe; Set in UK, France, Germany, Scandinavia; European Director Named.

Business/Technology Editors

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 21, 2000

With an ever-increasing number of members in Europe, the Application Service Provider (ASP) Industry Consortium has launched four new territorial committees and announced the appointment of a new European Director.

National or territorial committees operating under the umbrella of the global ASP Industry Consortium have been launched in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the Scandinavian region, said Jeff Maynard of Netstore plc (UK), the Consortium's Regional Vice Chair for Europe.

"These committees will address issues that are more local and regional in nature, while still being able to access the resources of the global organization," Maynard explained. The chairs of the new territorial committees, chosen in local elections conducted over the last month, are as follows:

France - Jacques DeGroote, ASPISERVE

Germany - Reinhard Kreft, ANDATE

Scandinavia - Morten Morland, GenesisIT

UK - Steve Vanterpool, UUNET 

In addition, a new national committee is being launched in the Netherlands as well. Frits Vetlink of Siennax has been chose as the interim chair, with elections scheduled for January 2001.

With membership representation in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, additional national or territorial committees are expected to be announced shortly as interest dictates.

In addition, the Consortium has appointed Tracey Dalby as its new European Director, Maynard announced.

"The ASP Industry Consortium now has more than 100 members in Europe, and that number is growing on almost a daily basis," noted Maynard. "We're very fortunate to have someone of Tracey's experience who will now be able to focus exclusively on the needs of our European members."

Dalby comes to the Consortium from the Institute for International Research (IIR), where she spearheaded their ASP and co-location research and conferences. Over the last 18 months, she has tracked the ASP industry and worked closely with a number of publications, ASP industry players and the ASP Industry Consortium.

"It's an exciting time in Europe for new business solutions and ideas," said Dalby, "and I'm looking forward to working with our members and with the IT community at large to help educate the marketplace on the ASP computing model and its benefits."

In addition the creation of the territorial committees, the Consortium has also recently created two new versions of its Consortium's web site, www.allaboutasp.org, in French and German.

About the ASP Industry

An application service provider manages and delivers application capabilities to multiple entities from data centers across a wide area network, giving customers a viable alternative to procuring and implementing complex systems themselves. In some cases, ASPs even provide customers with a comprehensive alternative to building and managing internal information technology operations. ASP customers also are able to control more precisely the total cost of technology ownership through scheduled payment schemes.

Though the ASP market is relatively new, computer industry analysts foresee rapid growth and multi-billion-dollar annual sales within the next few years. End users cross industry lines and include anyone from the small office/home office (SOHO) client to large corporations and from complex businesses to specific verticals.

About the ASP Industry Consortium

Founded in May of 1999, the Application Service Provider Industry Consortium is an international advocacy group of more than 730 companies formed to promote the application service provider industry by sponsoring research, promoting best practices, and articulating the measurable benefits of this evolving delivery model. Its goals include educating the marketplace, developing common definitions for the industry, as well as serving as a forum for discussion and sponsoring research. Among the technology sectors represented among the ASP Industry Consortium membership are Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), Network Service Providers (NSPs), Application Service Providers (ASPs), as well as emerging business models and other sectors supporting the industry.

Information on the ASP Industry Consortium - including a full list of member companies - is available at www.allaboutasp.org or by contacting the Consortium's headquarters at: ASP Industry Consortium, Inc., 401 Edgewater Place, Suite 500, Wakefield, Mass., USA 01880; Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]; e-mail [e-mail].