Targeting new customer segments with innovative solutions: application service providing for the energy management sector

Application Service Providing (ASP) represents an attractive solution for many power companies that want to conduct their business more efficiently. Fast implementation, the outsourcing of the responsibilities for application development, operation and maintenance, low investment costs and the client’s ability to concentrate on core competencies are the driving forces that promise a competitive advantage for companies competing in the liberalized energy market. The investment cycle of energy companies demonstrates that investments decline substantially during the pre-liberalization phase, due to an overall uncertainty. But immediately after the market deregulation, the participating companies articulate a high demand for solutions that meet the new requirements. Consequently, the investments of these companies increase. The outcome of our competitive analysis shows that mature solutions exist primarily in the US Energy market. But most services developed overseas are not directly applicable to the European market. There are only few European ASPs in the energy sector, and none of them offers an integrated solution. In order to evaluate Treiblmaier, Fuchs, Scharl, Floh Application Service Providing for the Energy Management Sector current demands, a market study has been conducted in Germany and Austria, complemented by an international competitive analysis that identified a high demand for outsourcing in a number of different business areas.