ITPEC IP April 2018 Question 96

ASP — an application service provider lets customers use business software via the Internet.

The provider installs and runs the business application on its own servers; customers use it over the Internet and pay a usage fee, without buying, installing or maintaining the software themselves. Today the same model is usually called SaaS.

Answer (a)

Why not others:

• •(b) — ERP (enterprise resource planning) is a kind of business software that integrates core functions; it says what the software does, not how it is delivered
• •(c) — an ISP (Internet service provider) supplies the Internet connection itself, not business applications
• •(d) — SFA (sales force automation) is software that supports salespeople's activities, again a kind of software rather than a delivery service

Key rule: ASP and SaaS describe how software is provided (run by a provider, used over the Internet); ERP, CRM and SFA describe what the software does.

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