Merant Opens Online Development Service

Unlike the typical application service provider (ASP), U.K.-based Merant PLC not only wants to host applications, but it also wants to allow developers to create them.

Merant recently launched Merant ASaP, which gives developers access to source code and code-management capabilities over the Web.

The Merant ASaP portal will allow customers to access their own source code from a Web browser and tap into version-control capabilities. The service also offers instant chat, e-mail and the ability to capture project documentation online. Merant officials said the service is applicable to any development language.

Intel Online Services Inc., the ASP subsidiary of chip maker Intel Corp., is hosting the service for Merant.

Rousseau Aurelien, CEO of Cambridge Information Systems Inc., a startup in Cambridge, Mass., said Merant's ASaP service helps bridge the gap between the firm's two offices in Cambridge. The startup's 25 developers began using the service two months ago.

"Traditional tools are not well suited for high levels of collaboration among a distributed workforce," Aurelien said.

Kneko Burney, an analyst at Cahners In-Stat Group in Newton, Mass., said the ASP model is a sound platform to connect developers in disparate locations. "The Web environment enables developers to design applications more quickly and easily," said Burney.

Hosting Advantages

Rob Enderle, an analyst at Giga Information Group Inc. in Cambridge, Mass., said development services hosted by third parties offer the advantage of not locking developers into a particular tool set or platform.

"What ASPs have become are aggregators of services," he said. "It's very similar to cable, where the companies provide a set of channels from a wide number of providers, like HBO and ABC, so viewers have lots of options. But in the early years, you were hard-connected to just one provider."

Pricing for ASaP starts at US$2,500 to set up the service, plus additional charges of as much as $100 per user per month.

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