In the mid-1990's, the notion that companies would lease software packages via the Internet for a monthly fee rather than buy multimillion-dollar systems was championed by a group of companies known as application service providers.
Catapulse, which is closely held, was begun a year ago by Rational's two founders -- Paul Levy, Rational's chairman, and Michael Devlin, its chief executive -- to lease software development tools over the Internet and to let software developers share information about projects on the Web.
The idea is to sell Internet access as well as a cluster of goods and services — from extended warranties to leased software programs, perhaps even a Gobi credit card.
They know that large companies, facing shortages of skilled high-tech workers and wanting greater flexibility with their information-systems budgets, are more willing than ever to lease software from outside suppliers that link them to distant data centers.
SAS leases its software, typically at a current base price of around $40,000 a year (maintenance and upgrades included), depending on how many of a customer's employees use the system.
Yet the roadside is littered with companies that tried to cash in on the idea of leasing software over the Internet.
Copier Services filed a lawsuit against Xerox in 1994 saying it violated antitrust laws by refusing to sell parts or manuals or lease diagnostic software to Copier Services.
Rather than buy a license for one version of the software, and then decide case by case whether and when to buy upgrades, corporate customers under the new model effectively lease the software, paying annual subscription fees and receiving upgrades when Microsoft releases them.
