One-stop ASP launches in UK

A company which claims to be the first to bunch application service provider offerings under one umbrella to provide a "single integrated service" has been launched in the UK.

A company which claims to be the first to bunch application service provider (ASP) offerings under one umbrella to provide a "single integrated service" has been launched in the UK.

The company, called 7, has already been endorsed by Microsoft and IBM, and describes itself as a business aggregator aimed at helping firms to avoid becoming weighed down by service level agreements and contracts by offering a "single point of contact and accountability".

Graham Crinch, senior vice president for strategic alliances at 7, said: "Resellers have struggled in the past because they are all selling software, hardware and services in a traditional way, which makes the customer confused."

"Resellers and ASPs can club together so customers can access services by a single reliable method which simplifies the whole process," he added.

A purpose-built solutions data centre has been constructed in the bullion vaults of the old Bank of England building, which runs IBM's e-Server pSeries and xSeries, Unix and Microsoft Windows 2000 servers. Intelligent storage is delivered by an IBM storage area network.

Services offered through 7's partners include messaging and collaboration, network infrastructure management, managed security services and storage services.

Crinch said that 7's main focus will be corporates, although he admitted that take-up is expected to be slower in the small to medium sized enterprise sector.

Charges will be based on a one-off connection fee including installation, a standing charge based on the number of appliances connected to the customer's database, and a metered charge for those paying according to usage.

First published in Computer Reseller News