Looking for a solution to allow a regular app to run as a service

That commercial offering you're referring to is "adding value" by being nice to applications it hosts-- trying to close them gracefully when the service control manager asks it to "stop", etc.

You can get a lot of that functionality from something like NSSM - the Non-Sucking Service Manager, SRVANY (from various Windows resource kits), or any other number of similiar projects out there. What you won't get from those tools is obsessive attention to shutting down applications cleanly like that commercial tool you mentioned.

Pitty you don't tel us what version of Windows your running, 2000, 2003 or 2008.

I had to run a simple program as service once on a Windows 2003 server and used srvany.exe for it. Its part of the Windows Server 2003 resource kit that you can download for free from the microsoft download site.

Windows Server 2003 resource kit download.

A KB article of srvany for Windows 2000 that might get you on track. support.microsoft.com/kb/137890

Hopes this helps you out a bit!