Classroom Companion: Business

17.2 · Stakeholders and Relationships in Digital Markets

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pays for Internet access to the ISP. Network access markets are the business domain 
of the ISP and the NP, while markets for information services are the business 
domain of the ASP and the CP.
The model in 
.
Fig. 
17.2
is a simplification of the business domain for digital 
services. The most important observation from this simple model is that there is a 
sharp separation of business domains in the provision of digital services. Not only 
are there many stakeholders involved in the provision of digital services, but there 
are also big differences in how each of them conducts their business. For instance, 
the NP builds and operates a physical ICT infrastructure consisting of optical 
fibers, mobile base stations, communication satellites, undersea cables, Internet 
routers, and switching centers. This infrastructure may cover a large geographical 
area and consist of expensive equipment. Moreover, the NP needs a staff of techni-
cians and engineers to build and manage the ICT infrastructure. There are also 
huge undertakings in upgrading the ICT infrastructure since ICT tends to get out-
dated quickly.
The content provider produces content such as music, movies, and news arti-
cles. The business operation of the content producer is vastly different from that of 
the NP. The products of the content provider are usually digital and reside only on 
a digital storage device. These products do not need upgrades or extensive manage-
ment after being produced.
Formal relationships or contracts, in terms of service-level agreements (SLAs), 
may exist between the stakeholders in digital markets.
C
ISP
ASP
CP
ASP
buys content and
application delivery
services from ISP