A
service provider (
SP) is a company that provides organizations with consulting, legal, real estate, education, communications, storage, processing, and many other services. Although the term
service provider can refer to organizational sub-units, it is more generally used to refer to third party or outsourced suppliers, including
telecommunications service providers (TSPs),
application service providers (ASPs),
storage service providers (SSPs), and
Internet service providers (ISPs).