ASP Industry Consortium Honored for Educational Program; National Award Recognizes Creativity in Public Relations.

Business/Technology Editors

WAKEFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 30, 2000

The Application Service Provider (ASP) Industry Consortium has been honored with the Creativity in Public Relations Award (CIPRA) for its campaign to educate the marketplace about the ASP delivery model.

The Consortium was honored for its publicity campaign, "The `Next Big Thing' In Computing," in the trade association category. The award-winning program topped those of such well-established groups as the National Cattlemen's Beef Association's, The Soap and Detergent Association, the High Tech Consortium and the American Road & Transportation Builders Association.

This year's CIPRA competition included more than 1,500 entries from more than 250 agencies. The awards are presented by Inside PR and Reputation Management Magazine.

The ASP Industry Consortium was launched in May 1999 as an international advocacy group of 25 companies who came together to promote the application service provider industry by sponsoring research and educating the marketplace. The consortium recently marked its first anniversary with nearly 500 member companies. Since the launch, ASP Industry Consortium spokespersons have been quoted in hundreds of stories around the world, reaching an estimated billion-plus readers and viewers.

"This award validates the efforts of everyone involved with the ASP Industry Consortium," noted Chairman Traver Gruen-Kennedy. "We set out a year ago to help educate people as to the benefits of the ASP computing model. The CIPRA award tells us that we've executed the plan with distinction."

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 400 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. 01880; Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]; e-mail [e-mail].