HP and nVisionIT create Microsoft-based ASP solution

HP South Africa and nVisionIT, a company that specialises in providing tailored business solutions built around a core set of partner applications and technologies, are in the final roll-out phase of their application service provider (ASP) initiative set to be launched later this year. The hosting solution which provides access to customised business solutions, as opposed to generic software applications, has been built on Microsoft BizTalk and Microsoft Windows 2000 Server`s Active Directory technology.

In terms of the partnership agreement, HP will provide the hardware platform through its datacentre - a computing infrastructure designed specifically for hosted services - which HP intends to have certified by Microsoft in the near future. The core hosting environment which is based on the Microsoft DNA architecture, was designed by nVisionIT.

"As high-availability is critical to the success of an ASP, we have designed and developed systems that offer customers the highest levels of uptime in mission-critical environments," says Mary-Anne De Waal, account services manager for HP Operations. "We chose to leverage our ASP offering off Microsoft technology, due to our extensive internal Microsoft skills set, its performance and reliability and the belief that Microsoft has developed a coherent and competitive ASP programme, including licensing, tools and services."

HP and nVisionIT have taken a phased approached to their ASP initiative, whereby generic applications such as Microsoft Office will be launched in the last quarter of this year. These will then be expanded into tailored business solutions for customers at a later stage, for example offering Great Plains solutions built on Microsoft SQL Server. "The goal of this alliance is to offer business functionality to the small and medium enterprise (SME) market," says Graham van Zijl, managing director of nVisionIT. "We chose to leverage our hosting platform off Microsoft Windows 2000 Server and Microsoft SQL Server as theses products offer the functionality, reliability and integration tools needed to deliver high-availability packaged solutions around individual business requirements, for example customer relationship management.

"The ASP environment is well suited to the SME market as it allows these companies to gain alternative access to an IT department in an outsourced environment. IT infrastructure can be costly, therefore this type of hosted environment allows SMEs to take advantage of the latest technological innovations, without researching and understanding them - enabling them to focus on their core business competencies."

"Microsoft is excited that companies such as HP and nVisionIT have seen the need to host applications that are fully integrated, allowing them to offer business solutions to the market in the future," says Cyril Belikoff, network solutions group manager at Microsoft South Africa. "As a key Microsoft partner, HP has the products and service solutions that enable local ASPs to offer the necessary service levels to their customers. "This is important since the South African market is currently moving quickly to take advantage of hosting platforms that offer integration, rapid deployment and reliability."

The tripartite alliance has established a presence on the Web where potential ASP customers can register, test drive some of the core offerings and evaluate the service as a whole. Visit www.aspsolutions.co.za for more information.