May 3, 2006 – (HOSTSEARCH.COM) – Microsoft Corp (www.microsoft.com) announced that it has released the Microsoft® Solution for Windows®-based Hosting for Applications Version 1.0. The new solution provides independent software vendors (ISVs) and hosting service providers with the platform, tools and best practices to deliver software as a service, an area in which leading IT market research and advisory firm IDC estimates spending will reach $10.7 billion (US) worldwide by 2009.
“Software as a service offers new business opportunities for ISVs and service providers, but also presents new challenges as they must enable on-site applications for delivery as a hosted service,” said Pascal Martin, general manager of Worldwide Hosting at Microsoft. “In the Hosting Group we have a unique set of expertise and experience in utilising the Microsoft platform and tools to help our industry partners enable such solutions and offerings. Windows-based Hosting for Applications provides ISVs and service providers with tools and guidance to maximise the software-as-a-service opportunity.”
Windows-based Hosting for Applications equips ISVs with the tools and guidance to design service-enabled software applications and facilitate user provisioning, performance monitoring, usage tracking, and reporting and service aggregation.
Microsoft also provides a monthly subscription-based licensing model, Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA), which requires no upfront investment or commitment from the ISV. In this model, service providers and ISVs only pay for the software they use in a given time period, removing risk from moving to a hosted model. For hosting service providers, the solution provides a comprehensive set of modular and tightly integrated components, scripts and guidance that enable them to build environments that are operationally efficient and highly scalable for delivering software as a service.
