ASPService was founded by Ashish Mittal in 2002 to be an Application Service Provider (ASP).  Originally, the firm provided "Software-as-a-service"-based applications to small and medium sized businesses.  In 2003, the firm started developing and providing customized solutions for hedge funds and that subsequently has become the firm’s sole focus.

Designing and building a proprietary investment management platform is a very expensive and time consuming undertaking, often costing hundreds of thousands of dollars and taking years to complete.  In addition, it is a constant drain on manager’s time, requiring ongoing enhancements to keep them up to date and relevant in the ever changing investment landscape. 

Due both to the time constraints and the financial commitment involved most managers are not willing to undertake the grueling task of building their own solution until they have reached critical mass, typically when they are managing over $500 million.  Instead, they rely on outsourced solutions or on extremely complicated Excel spreadsheets that do not provide anything but the most rudimentary portfolio and risk management functionality.

As the hedge fund industry matures and institutional investors become increasingly demanding of both transparency and robust risk management, it is increasingly difficult for managers to run their businesses in this way; and yet Excel spreadsheets remain the tool of choice for the vast majority of small managers due to their flexibility and the lack of alternatives that address their needs.