What do you think of web based software?

[InternetGuru]

Hi,

My experience has been good and bad.

I've not experienced some of what you have mentioned, only the following...

An example is a piece of software I was using to build websites when I first started working online. It was good when I was a beginner but since I've learnt how to utilise SEO I've found the software obsolete.

I could not manipulate the title tags, H tags, and many other important aspects that I found easy to do after purchasing my XsitePro software (loaded on my own computer) to build my websites.

Having said that I have used many different types of software for keyword research, spying on other peoples websites (Shhhh) and such that are serving me very well.

I think there are ups and downs... Best to try and make ones own mind up based on your experience rather than just wondering.

Also see what people are saying on forums about the exact piece of software you are looking at.

If you are looking to develop the software I would do keyword research to see how many people are searching for what you are thinking of developing. If the numbers are there and you know how to market well then I say develop it.

[InternetGuru]

Hi,

My experience has been good and bad.

I've not experienced some of what you have mentioned, only the following...

An example is a piece of software I was using to build websites when I first started working online. It was good when I was a beginner but since I've learnt how to utilise SEO I've found the software obsolete.

I could not manipulate the title tags, H tags, and many other important aspects that I found easy to do after purchasing my XsitePro software (loaded on my own computer) to build my websites.

Having said that I have used many different types of software for keyword research, spying on other peoples websites (Shhhh) and such that are serving me very well.

I think there are ups and downs... Best to try and make ones own mind up based on your experience rather than just wondering.

Also see what people are saying on forums about the exact piece of software you are looking at.

If you are looking to develop the software I would do keyword research to see how many people are searching for what you are thinking of developing. If the numbers are there and you know how to market well then I say develop it.

[mynetworkplaces]

we also think it eliminates many of the concerns that people would have about using web hosted software, in particular we provide standard Windows software programs like Microsoft Office, Outlook, MYOB, Quickbooks and others including software that we load up "on request" for our clients. This means there are no issues with retraining, no file format or data migration problems and no concerns about "lock in" or "what happens if I hate the company and want to leave?". (Answer: just grab your files and go back to working on your own PC or server with the same software).
So...if any of you who are providing your thoughts on web based software would also care to share your feedback, thoughts, concerns etc on our service as well, then I'll be most interested in hearing it!

[Loreden]

Originally Posted by Devan

By far, the two most common negatives I hear are (1) the ongoing monthly costs of these services, i.e. you never really own the software as such, and (2) the fact that your data is stored on somebody else's server and out of your control.

Why i don't think so ?? you can get your own server and set up. And I don't think monthly cost is much high too Just my OP !!

[Benedict]

I think that like anything that there are good a bad offerings and part of the deciding factor is your needs. Personally I think Joomla is terrible value for money (free) but something like Concrete 5 is great (also free) solely because I see one system as helping people achieve an aim easily and the other as being so complex it gets in the way of it's stated aim.

Yes there is a per month/annum cost but everything has a cost. The per month cost should equate to or beat having your own tech people to do the same thing.

You never own software. Who would want to? Software ownership is not a thing to aspire to. Having software widely used and with a financial incentive to quality support and development is a must or you get un-fixed bugs and no new features.

As for data on someone else's server that one means nothing. Data is generally adequately secured. Poor security will destroy a supplier's reputation. Rely on the market to look after that. Also why would you put anything top secret online as the net is for sharing information (email lists are NOT top secret).

On finding value, let's look at a common web software. The CMS that allows a business to edit their own web marketing content. Building and then maintaining such software in-house would be very costly. Having the software delivered all ready for the marketing people to fly is a wonderful thing. However in reality most businesses who have a CMS either never use it, can't use it or use it so little that the cost is not providing value to them. Of course the tool cannot be blamed for that as the customer and the salesperson have made their own decisions.

Mr Guru: if you want control of your site then why not learn to code your sites properly as while some of those programs are really cool to use most produce a lot of problems and limits in the long term. Coding is pretty simple if you stick to basics and apply solid logic.

[WFBS]

I think web based software is brilliant. The convenience, issue free upgrades, cost effectiveness - the list is endless.

Of course you need to choose a reputable company most quality software companies will publish how they protect your data.

But lets take it one step further, think worse case scenerios. What happens if a situation occured whereby your lost your data? With most online software you can't backup but you can certainly export data.

Some software companies such as www.unleashedsoftware.com have designed a feature whereby all of your data is dumped into a variety of Excel spreadsheets - you simply need to store it. For our online clients that are using www.xero.com we always export reports and data into Excel and put into safe storage. The reason being - we can sleep at night.

Most transactions can be exported, find online software that addresses this in conjunction with a strong policy on security and it should be fine.

On a final note, although many people feel desktop software is more secure, how many businesses do you know of - that regulary EMAIL their accounting datafile to their Accountant! At least with online the Accountant logs into a secure area to gather the information he requires!

thanks
Wendy Field.