ASPs not yet a threat to network managers

ASP technology is unlikely to spell the end of the network manager, according to a poll of attendees at the Networks Telecom show in Birmingham this week.

Martin Bennet, a consultant at Solution Services, said that while it "could happen", he believed that companies would need to remain in control of their data and would not want to hand it over to a third party.

Stephen Shepherd, head of IT at BT Syncordia, thought it unlikely there would be any changes to network managers' roles in the short term. "What worries me about ASPs is that customers will have all their eggs in one technology basket," he said.

Doug Irvine, network analyst at Capita Business Services, said: "I can't see ASP technology bursting into the public sector. Things don't move quickly enough. We're at the show to look into wireless technologies because I'm currently installing a network in a listed building. Public bodies move in a fragmented way."

Brian Gilbertson, technical engineer for Marconi, said the belief that network managers' days were over was "nonsense". "You always need network managers - their personal touch is important," he said.

Mike Hord, managing director of Secure XL, said: "If ASP technology progresses to the nth degree then I don't see why not. But there will be an emotional barrier to outsourcing everything."

Dinos Kynigos, a consultant at DLT Solutions, said: "People will have to modify the way they work, but people have always had to do that. Progress in ASP technology is about making life easier."

Jeannie Robinson, of Nottingham NHS Trust, agreed. "If it happens, it happens, but I think it's unlikely. Hopefully, ASPs will make our lives easier, but I'll believe it when I see it," she said.

Joel Brizman, managing director at Brizman Systems, said: "ASP environments will not be exclusive. Email hasn't replaced the fax, has it? People, particularly those in the boardrooms of companies, want to make sure that they hold the data on site. It will be a hybrid environment. I speak to network managers in many different companies and they're not too worried. It's like e-tail replacing retail. It won't happen entirely.

Andrew Payne, product marketing manager at NTL, said: "There is potential for it to happen, but not in the next five years - the ASP industry is not yet mature enough."

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