A research study submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration, School of Management

Research Studies Project Report (M.B.A.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2001

With the proliferation of communication protocols in the 1990s, the Device Independent Internet has been introduced as a new technology in the Internet industry. It provides a means by which data can be exchanged between different types of Internet user. Even though technology is more and more developed in daily basis, there are still many limitations in the technology and in the market application of Device Independent Internet Platforms. This paper examines the technical and market challenges, and commercial potential of "Device- independent Internet platforms". This research study is to examine the market potential of device independent Internet platforms of the type being developed by the company under study- Ab Grenwill Oy, and to make a critical evaluation of the utility of the Application Service Provider (ASP) business model in relation to providing device independent platforms. The company study had been conducted in Helsinki, Finland. It has been found that there is a significant proportion of the role players in this Device Independent Internet industry are not making revenue as they expected. It has also been found that the Application Service Provider business model, in which services are provided over communication networks by companies that retain ownership of software and infrastructure links, is likely to become the predominant form of provision of Device Independent Internet Platforms.