Davy Stockbrokers is upbeat about the prospects for Horizon group and, particularly, its iFusion solutions division.

IFusion operates in the application service provider (ASP) market, which is developing as a significant alternative to the deployment of in-house software applications. An ASP hosts a client company's computer applications on its own servers, access to which is provided through the Internet.

This market is forecast to grow at an annual rate of almost 100 per cent for the next four years, but competition is already intense.

The emerging players on the solutions and consultancy side are KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and iFusion. Davy says operators that have experience in more than one aspect of the business will be in a better position and that is the main reason for its optimism in relation to iFusion. The division has significant experience in the solutions and consulting sector, as well as experience in the integration of applications from its Internet infrastructure operation.

In addition, it has been one of the main builders of ASP infra structure for telecommunications operators in Ireland and Britain over the past two years.

Davy says that while the future of the ASP market is still not fully defined, it is clear that it will be huge and will serve both new and traditional businesses. Barriers to the adoption of the ASP model, such as connectivity and security, are diminishing.