Service Provider

A service provider is a vendor that provides IT solutions and/or services to end users and organizations. This broad term incorporates all IT businesses that provide products and solutions through services that are on-demand, pay per use or a hybrid delivery model. A service provider's delivery model generally differs from conventional IT product manufacturers or developers. Typically, a service provider does not require purchase of an IT product by a user or organization. Rather, a service provider builds, operates and manages these IT products, which are bundled and delivered as a service/solution. In turn, a customer accesses this type of solution from a service provider via several different sourcing models, such as a monthly or annual subscription fee. Examples of service providers include:

• Hosting service provider
• Cloud service provider
• Storage service provider
• Software as a Service (SaaS) provider