For the past year or so, the papers have been full of stories about application service providers (ASPs). Numerous reports have been written on the subject by market research and consulting companies such as IDC and Ovum. Software giants from Microsoft, Oracle and SAP at the top end of the market, to companies with names you've probably never heard of at the bottom, have announced their intention to get in on the ASP act.

Most IT professionals and business executives are now familiar with the term ASP, but few could say they know what it means and even fewer could name a company offering such a service. Not bad going for a sector that will be worth anything from a few billion to tens of billions of dollars within a few years, depending on whose projections you believe.

Put simply, the ASP model is about application rental, but in a form that differs in significant ways from traditional outsourcing arrangements.

But what are the benefits for businesses? Check out the latest ASP news and analysis from vnunet.com.