Stories by Christopher Koch

Boy, Was That Fast!

Last year ASPs were hotter than hot. Now after Pandesic's failure last summer, that sound you hear is the popping of the ASP bubble.

Backdoor I.T.

Tom Brailsford had a good idea for a technology project, but he couldn't get it done. Not without a little backdoor help from his IS department.

Death by ASP

Suppose you were heading a joint venture of two of the biggest, wealthiest technology companies on the planet and you wanted to tell your customers that you were shutting your doors. How would you do it?

Outsourcing: Ask & Ye Shall Receive

For larger companies considering application service providers (ASPs), some trends are already emerging despite the immaturity of the market. First and foremost is the internet, of course. Competition among e-commerce sites is so fierce that leaders of the site need to be ready to make changes and add new functionality at a moment's notice. That kind of schedule is beyond the reach of most internal IS departments, which are struggling to keep up with all the demands on their time and are having trouble finding, hiring and keeping experienced e-commerce staff people. ASPs can get an e-commerce site up and running (and supported) in short order.

Outsourcing Monster in a Box

The leash on technology spending and control is slipping from the CIO's hand. The factors that have ensured the CIO's participation in technology buying decisions will soon go away. All that will be left for the CIO is accountability if something goes wrong.