Below are some excerpts from an article that I had written for Smart Company magazine, so I thought I’d go ahead and post it to our blog.
Get Your Office Off the Treadmill of Traditional Software and Online for the Benefits of Web-based Applications
I’m about to send the draft of this story to the editor by e-mail through my free Gmail account with Google. There. I just used a Web-based application to complete a business transaction. Now that I’m done, I might do some shopping on Amazon or e-Bay, check in with my friends on FaceBook, and then update my fitness and nutrition schedule at SparkPeople.
Whether you’re aware of it or not, every day most of us already employ Web-based applications on our computers — from e-mail and retail to wikis, discussion boards, blogs and role-playing games. So don’t be intimidated by the term when it comes to using this free or low-cost technology to benefit your business. Simply put, a “Web-based application” is just software that comes from and remains on the Web. These tools and utilities run on a remote server rather than your desktop computer or network. You access them through your browser, like Internet Explorer, Safari or Firefox. They don’t need to be downloaded, installed or configured — and most importantly in these belt-tightening times, the software often doesn’t even need to be purchased.
All About Simplification
As anyone running a large or small business knows all too well, buying software can take a big bite out of your budget. You probably didn’t conduct a thorough needs analysis when it came to purchasing software for your company, especially if yours is a new or small venture. Well, you’re not alone. Most of us get started with either the pre-installed software that comes with our computer, or we may have at least asked the salesman for his recommendation. From that innocent beginning, we soon find ourselves in a full-blown relationship with money flying out the window faster than it comes in the door. You know the drill: Your computer came with Microsoft Word, but it’s not enough so you buy an office suite package. Then you buy more copies for your expanding staff — never mind that many of them only use the most basic features of the product, or that you didn’t get a trial run to see if it was right for you. Soon you need customer support. Next comes the upgrades, a never-ending cycle of newer software, requiring the purchase of more copies so every employee is up-to-date, not to mention compatible. And quicker than you can say “Windows Vista,” you’re wedded to Bill Gates and supporting his retirement.
Embracing web-based applications can simplify business processes, and enhance your ability to serve and support you customers more efficiently either through the front-end of your Web site, or the back-end with a Web-based solution.
Saving Time & Money
Web-based applications can get you off the traditional software treadmill and moving ahead to a more productive — and profitable — bottom line. Solutions delivered online offer the flexibility, mobility, compatibility and manageability that save you time and money. Here’s how:
Cross-platform compatibility. Most Web-based applications are far more compatible across platforms than traditional installed software. Typically the minimum requirement would be a Web browser. Many browsers are available for a multitude of operating systems; whether you use Windows, Linux or Mac OS, you can still run the Web application. Plus, since many applications are free, you can test drive them at no cost. Even those that do charge a fee usually offer free trials. Given the many functionalities and small details that cannot be fully tested and discovered before committing to a purchase of expensive, installed software, that’s a real bargain.
More manageability. Web-based systems need only be installed on the server, placing minimal requirements on the end-user workstation. This makes maintaining and updating the system much simpler as usually it can all be done on the server. Any updates can be deployed via the Web server with relative ease.
Higher mobility. Due to the manageability and cross-platform support, deploying Web applications to the end user is far easier. They are also ideal where bandwidth is limited and the system and data is remote to the user. At their most deployable, you simply need to send the user a Web site address to log in to and provide them with access to the application. This has huge implications: allowing you to widen access to your systems, streamline processes and improve relationships by providing more of your customers, suppliers and third parties with access to your systems.
Added security. Web-based applications provide an added layer of security by removing the need for the user to have access to the data and servers. Users will also have much less of a risk of losing their data due to an unforeseen disk crash or computer virus, since your data is hosted in a highly reliable and redundant data storage farm. No more worrying about those troublesome tape backups!
With all these advantages, you can dramatically lower your costs by cutting support and maintenance, reducing requirements on the end-user system and simplifying your software architecture. Web-based applications take time and distance out of the equation in the way you run your business or organization, streamlining it for efficiency. As long as you have access to a Web browser, you can run your business from anywhere — whether you’re at the office, at home, in a hotel or on the beach!
The world revolves around the Web. Now your office can, too.
