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Dominant UK telco BT has become one of the latest recruits to the growing band of enterprises that believe they can make money out of selling software and business applications as on-demand web-based products, aka ‘Software as a Service’ (‘SaaS’). Sassy indeed,

In April the UK incumbent, in partnership with Microsoft, launched 'BT Applications Marketplace'. Populated with software products supplied by Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), the site provides small business users with access to a range of applications specifically designed for their needs, which they can buy on an SaaS basis.

BT says this allows businesses to pay a monthly subscription for the software they require, obviating the need for upfront capital investment as well as upgrade costs. The deal also means that small businesses no longer need to manage and support these applications in-house: this is taken care of by the company supplying the service.

“With BT Applications Marketplace we’re bringing together the ISV and small business communities to help developers sell their products and enable end-users to get the benefit from the latest on-demand applications”, judges managing director at BT Business Bill Murphy.