管理信息系统案例分析-Jamcraker

Case Study---Jamcraker Based on the case, we will discuss three problems, which include the meaning of ASP model in Jamcraker, the benefits of ASP and the challenge of this model. The detail statements are shown as following.Part One:what is ASP?ASP is acronym stands for ―Application Service Providers‖. ASP provided software services—email, word processing, accounting, and any other services that companies could obtain from software—across the Internet. With the ASP model, in contrast, when a computer user launched an accounting package the software executed off the customer’s site, in a facility and on hardware owned and operated by a company that specialized in running such package for many customers. The functionality provided by the package traveled to the user across the Internet. If the user input data, it too was stored(securely) in a remote facility, which might well be in a different city and state.ASP is a provider of application software rental services, which means providing application software services by leasing through the network. ASP business has the application software as the main body, and passes the services by one-to-many through the network. This model enables companies have the right to use the software in the way of leasing, which can reduce the maintenance cost of enterprise significantly. Evenly, it can be considered to be a combination of ISP (Internet Service Provider) and ITS (Information Technology Service).According to popular opinion, the ASP has the following five contents:(a) ASP focuses on application, provides applications to access and manage.(b) ASP service can provide users with authorization access services in "custom" new application system environment without the upfront investment of resources of the server, people, systems .(c)ASP uses the way of centralized management --- ASP usually has a management center, all of our customers through the INTERNET can access to technical support and consulting services.(d) one-to-many service, that is speaking, the ASP provides a standardized package, are minimal custom or no customization, has reached a practical and convenient standards for industrial users.(e) in accordance with the contract delivery, in the eyes of the ASP customers, the ASP is considering customer agreement to provide related services, to ensure services of application service system can be fulfilled.In one word, the ASP is a intermediary, like a bank. It provides the application software services that designed by designers to users who buy it. Part Two:what are the benefits of ASP model?We discuss the benefits for ASP model's users with value chain.The benefits for ASP model's users with value chain are charactered by primary activities like operations and support activities like human resource management, technological development and firm infrastructure.Operation1)Speedy ImplementionSetup time for services acquired via the ASP model was usually much shorter than the time a company required to set up a similar IT capability internally. A company seek to acquire the capability need only to access the already built and tested capability form the ASP. For many companies, for example, this was the quickest route to setting up an e-commerce retail business.2)Support for 24*7 business operationUnlike tradition business operations, web-based businesses were expected to operate around the clock. But creating facilities and processes to support always-on operations required specialized expertise that most companies lacked.Human resource management and technological developmentHelp in the dealing with the shortage of skilled IT workers Many businesses, especially small and medium sized ones, had trouble attracting the skilled IT staff they needed to keep increasingly IT-intensive business activities running smoothly and reliably. Outsourcing to an ASP could reduce or, conceivably, eliminate the need for internal IT staff.Firm infrastructure1)Support for mobile workforce Because software functionality originated remotely in the ASP model, the location of user did not matter. A user who could successfully identify himself to the system could access the same functionality and data regardless of his location.Except for the value chain, the asp model promised significant economic benefits to companies that acquired services via this next-generation outsourcing, such as cost reduction and favorable cash flow profile.2)Cost reduction Because ASPs served many customers, they could realize economies of scale in service delivery that were not available to individual customers. The ASP model held the promise, therefore, of much lower cost of delivering IT services to individual firms.3)Favorable cash flow profile IT investments had traditionally required large up-front cash outlays and yielded only eventual and uncertain benefits. Functionality acquired via the ASP model, in contrast, required only modest set up fees with additional payments due after service delivery had already commenced. "Subscription-based" ASP computing provided a better match between benefit and risk than did the large, front-loaded, risky investments traditionally required to acquired IT capabilities. The benefits for ASP model’s brokerThe value chain is a template that firms use to understand their cost position and to identify the multiple means that might be used to facilitate implementation of a chosen business-level strategy. A firm’s value chain is segmented into primary and support activities.ASP (application service providers) provided software services –email, word processing, accounting, and any other services that companies could obtain from software –across the internet. The ASP promised economic benefits to companies such as speedy implementation, cost reduction, favorable cash flow profile, support for 24*7, help in dealing with the shortage of skilled IT workers, support for mobile workforce. ASP serves as the intermediary which benefits the company in the value chain.The benefits for ASP’ designer1、The benefits for ASP model's are as follows:2、Reduce and control operating costs3、Improve company focus4、Free internal resources for other purposes5、Accelerate reengineering benefits6、Make capital funds available7、Share risks8、Cash infusioncompanies design ASP，need not have to built IT management platform，so that they can reduce and control operating costs, while improve the company’s focus, and free internal resources for other purposes. Which also allow a company to focus resources on its core business, while free internal resources can be used for other purposes to produce more profits.As a partner of Jamcracker, ASP designer can receive cash flows regularly from Jamcracker. Which guarantee the regular cash flow making capital funds available and also reduce the risks.Because there is less worry about selling. ASP designer can focus on design. Which also Accelerate reengineering benefits.Part Three:what are the challenges to ASP model?Jamcracker has reached such great success. IT technology diffuses quickly. In particular, ASP model is considered as a disruptive technology, which will shape the industry into a new pattern.Jamcracker still confronts many challenges ahead. Bottom line is that it needs to be the world's greatest service-oriented organization, find a way to deliver this world-class support, and make their customers happy.Basic challenges include the issue of timing, technical challenges, the need for professional services, and addressing customer concerns.1)The timing issueAs with emerging market of the ASP space and the ASP aggregator, the burden on Jamcracker was to educate its customers in the details of the new approach.Besides, there also exists another beset by a chicken-and-egg problem. To make the model practically viable, a critical mass of infrastructure and industry relationships were required, which need strong prospects for a sizable growth in the relative short term. But dot-com crash dimmed short-term prospects for growth in technology industries. This would bring about a timing issue for Jamcracker.2)Technical ChallengesThe second possible challenge this model may face is technical challenges, which is Difficult to overcome.When it comes to the technical challenges in ASP industry, we can learn from the article that ASP model just applied in recent years and it belongs to a new model. So the ASP industry was young, it lacked established standards and Lack of professional personnel. Moreover, in compatibility with other equipment, there are still a lot of technical problems. There also exists the problem of data sharing. Frequently, data residing with one ASP need to be transferred to another ASP to avoided redundant data entry, while Jamcracker’s technology facilitated this kind of transfer.As to Jamcracker, it has faced many problems in the course of ASP’s development. For one thing, in view of the good market prospects and the current fierce competition, Jamcracker needs to improve its technical in order to change a rival into a partner. Finally, Jamcracker owns aggregator model that made most companies in the ASP space were prospective partners rather than competitors. For another, in order to minimize the integration burden on the ASP, Jamcracker need to invest more human and material resources to encourage ASPs to connect. Besides, Jamcracker has to free ASPs to specialize operationally while integrating with other ASP’s applications to solve a larger outsourcing problem for customers. Meanwhile, there were also challenges involved in making the infrastructure more robust as the business grew.3)The need for professional servicesOn the construction of Jamcracker’s network, software integrated into the network is becoming more and more sophisticated. Also, the trend that customers need professional and diversifying services increases the complexity. Consumers without related knowledge have difficulty in setting up initial system configurations and transferring data from legacy systems to ASP-based system, which hinders the use of some specially purposed applications that play a key role of daily operation. In addition, each application needs to be installed separately. In this way, customers feel more sonfused.To ease the problem, Jamcracker has primarily relied on consulting partners to provide professional services support. To promote partner services, for example, Jamcracker invites partner ASPs to speak at trade shows or deliver keynotes to its customer base, which creates a tight communication interface between our partners and our service delivery processes and service technicians.However, this measure would dilute management attention. That is to say, it’s just a contemporary step. In the long term, the services should be automated and runby buyers themselves. Jamcracker and its partners are developing a standard for single sign-on technology. Currently, customers have to log on separately to each application. The standard will give them access to all applications, just by logging on once.4)Addressing customer concernsThe last possible challenge thi s model may face is addressing customers’ concern, which is apt to be negative. As a new model arising in recent years, ASP model hasn’t been well acquainted by the public, customers may doubt about its effectiveness and security. Also, because of it young age, it may not be as steady and mature as the traditional model. It always takes time for the new thing to go through failure and innovation time and time again, and then finally become unquestionable. Therefore, companies that apply ASP model have to de al with customers’ doubts and complaints, and prove that they are trustworthy. As a result, they are required to pay extra attention to the quality of services they provide and supervise closely.Particularly for Jamcracker, a cloud service broker that has partnerships with different services providers and integrates the services for end users, it is more difficult to handle due to the multiple origins. Since it is a platform that cooperates with ASP partners to combine application services, the packed service offered to customer is respectively provided by different partners. If there is any problem in one of them, customer will directly owe it to Jamcracker, the direct service supplier, instead of the real one behind it. That means, its brand name is easily damaged by any one of its diverse service, although it is not the one should be blamed. So it is a big challenge for it to manage the quality and brand image. Not only does it have to improve its own service quality, but also it needs to make sure its partners are achieving the requirement. Thus, the ability of unified service management is needed to make it reliable to customers and relieve their concerns.Part Four:conclusionThe ASP is a intermediary, like a bank. It provides the application software services that designed by designers to users who buy it. From the analysis of its benefits and challenges in operation, we will see how the ASP survive in the fast evolving markets and how it make customers content with its service. In the long run, it is quite essential for a company to develop new technological operation model to well satify what customers need and lead the market.。