Application Service Providers

Abstract

Until recently, the development of information systems has been ruled by the traditional “make or buy” paradigm (Williamson, 1975). In other words, firms could choose whether to develop particular applications within their organizational structure or to acquire infrastructures and competences from specialized operators. Nevertheless, the Internet’s thorough diffusion has extended the opportunities that firms can rely upon, making it possible to develop a “make, buy, or rent” paradigm. Application service providers represent the agents enabling this radical change in the IS scenario, providing clients with the possibility to rent specifically-tailored applications (Morabito, 2001; Pasini, 2002).