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December 25, 2008 at 10:54 am #1001458Up::0BrightSpark, post: 1323 wrote:Once Australia’s gets high speed internet most information will move over to IP technology.
I still maintain that it is foolhardy to put forward such a prediction as this, at least without some sort of qualification/proviso as to what might realistically bring this about. Just because it can happen doesn’t mean it will.In technology there are no certainties, only possibilities. One factor amongst many is whether the market wants it. Marketers will try to persuade but they have failed before, the public will either need it or may just be able to be persuaded that they should have it and still nothing is certain.
It would seem likely that online/downloadable video will be a big factor in a future internet that has FAST download speeds. But no one has really tested yet whether the public at large is interested in a format that they can’t hold in their hand.
In a recent newsletter from a large USA audio visual retailer they note that there has been a resurgence in sales of vinyl record turntables and large plate format cameras. The reason seems to be that people want something they can “hold on to”, an album with pictures on the cover, a photograph on a glass plate.
If you are basing the future of a business on such predictions I would highly recommend that you watch for trend changes very carefully. Build lots of variability factors into your business plan, or you may get caught in the next Dot Com scenario.
December 31, 2008 at 5:23 am #1001459Up::0Web Based Software – or “Software as a Service” – is certainly a great tool. However, business owners should be selective in what software they move up into the online “cloud”.
There are basically two categories:
- Business Critical
- Non-Business Critical
Business Critical Apps
This category includes those apps which if they went down or became unavailable would cause your business to come to a complete halt. For example, things in my business which are absolutely critical – accounting / ERP package and our consultancy tool.The accounting package and the consultancy tool are the two things we need to survive (along with email, but thats another topic!). If either of those were unavailable it would make life difficult for the admin and consultative teams.
Non-Business Critical Apps
This includes any app which if it were to stop functioning, wouldn’t stop your whole business.It really is an individual choice – long term, moving applications into the “cloud” will become more popular as work forces become more mobile.
However I think you’ll find that Software as a Service will need to make significant in-roads in terms of system availability, security and capacity in order to boost consumer confidence when it comes to investing in this technology.
Cheers,
Geoffrey.
February 6, 2009 at 7:55 am #1001460Up::0A big issue for me personally is the format of the data.
A bunch of people advocating online tools have talked about how you can always extract your data and if they close up shop then they will give you the data files. This is useless if the data isn’t in a format that’s convenient to use in competing programs.
Having the files on my systems also allows me to perform other operations on them. I can use my own editing tools, search through files, use version control systems, attach them to emails and arrange them as I see fit. I acknowledge that these wouldn’t apply to most people, but they are my reasons.
The advantages of sharing, collaboration and access from around the world are all solved by making your data accessible through the internet. Locking it up in an online tool is just one way of doing this.
February 6, 2009 at 8:19 am #1001461Up::0Personally, about 50% of our web based software is hosted by ourselves,
The title is quite broad. The web based software initially discussed sounds like leased externally hosted web service software.
Web based software is usually referred due to its browser usage. It sounds like the initial description was a web service.
Some of the biggest companies run web based applications hosted from their central building. ERP, EMS, CMS. Plenty of critical applications.
Some big companies bought software and converted to Web or browser software. Centralised IT support with log in only required to carry out work anywhere in the world on any machine pending browser compliance.Depending on the business model with say down around <10 people a centralised network in the office with VPNs (virtual private networks) might be a better option. An excellent back up system should go with this always.
As for web services you need the internet access which isn’t available all the time in Australia.
February 7, 2009 at 12:03 am #1001462Up::0No mans land, post: 2744 wrote:As for web services you need the internet access which isn’t available all the time in Australia.Neither is power, but we all still rely on a power station we cannot see or even know where it is most of the time.
How often does your internet cut out in a year? Probably not much more often than the power.
Of course then you can flash up a notebook hooked up to a standard ups that will run forever and have a wireless broadband card to access all your information online.
So there could be an argument that web apps are more resiliant than local control.
There are now information brokers starting to pop up that hold your data “in trust” so that you retain control over your data rather than the actual provider.
April 10, 2009 at 12:39 pm #1001463Up::0I see many people refusing to go to web based software in the near future – they won’t even let me log in to their system there are so cautious.
The people who are prepared to take on new technology – will take it on – though if they need to convert from something they already have to something online they may be hesitant – however if it is something new, I think they will take it up.
I am looking into it (Google Appls)- but it is a lot of research and a little daunting.
April 10, 2009 at 12:40 pm #1001464April 23, 2009 at 1:58 am #1001465Up::0I run an email and collaboration hosting package as software as a service, think Microsoft Exchange. It’s called Zimbra and it provides all the features plus more of Exchange available as an online web client, it also integrates with outlook and allows over the air syncing with mobile devices.
Most people do not host their own email server, yet it is often hard to get them to come to grips with the fact that their email is already being stored online, they are already paying someone a monthly fee for a mail box.
Yes it is an ongoing monthly cost, but most people are already paying for mail hosting without any of the benefits my service offers. It also allows them to get away from having to be at their computer to access email, calendar and contacts. They can do it from anywhere they can get access to the internet.
I don’t think every service can be run this way, but I also think that their are many situations that don’t require a dedicated desktop client.
I think we will see many more web based applications, not necessarily hosted applications though, many businesses that have separate branch offices will begin to use web based software over Virtual Private Networks hosted internally because the software is designed to operate with the internet in mind allowing for a much more positive experience for remote users. Anyone who has used Remote Desktop will tell you what an irritating experience it can be, web applications in secure environments solve this issue almost completely.
April 24, 2009 at 5:10 am #1001466Up::0I have been in IT and project management for over 10 years and can say that most companies are moving towards cloud computing and web based systems.
Web based business solutions are less costly to manage and easier to deploy and maintain, and I’m referring to internal systems here.
Google has several applications which are perfect examples of cloud computing – Google Docs, Google Spreadsheet and one of the recent ones is Google integration with MS Exchange.
Cheers,
http://www.atcomm.com.au
http://www.starwebdesign.com.au
http://www.fasthosting.com.auApril 24, 2009 at 11:33 pm #1001467Up::0ecomm, post: 6465 wrote:most companies are moving towards cloud computing and web based systems.Web based business solutions are less costly to manage and easier to deploy and maintain, and I’m referring to internal systems here.
Some valid points, however, I do disagree with the cloud computing statement. According to Avanade, the group who recently published data on cloud computing usage, “the vast majority (84 percent) of those that currently depend on internal IT systems have no plans to switch to cloud computing technologies in the next 12 months.” One of the big fears mentioned with web based data is the security and confidentiality of that data – if people are worried now, then they’ll be even more worried about cloud computing! However, I do agree with companies moving towards web based systems in general. Whether it’s their own web based systems, SaaS, etc, this trend will definitely grow into the future for many reasons.
Personally, I do prefer some web based systems over desktop based options for a number of reasons (mainly accessibility and portability of data). Having said that, there are software packages that just work so much better on the desktop. The web has a long way to go to catch up with most desktop based systems, but that gap is closing every day with the rapid speed of web development and technologies available.
As a small business owner, the list of options available for pretty much every business task is growing every day! It does not surprise me when I hear about some business owner’s flat-out refusing to use web based or desktop based and stick to good old pen and paper! Long live the sticky-note!
Joel
April 25, 2009 at 5:57 am #1001468Up::0Hi,
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.
April 25, 2009 at 6:05 am #1001469Up::0Hi,
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.
May 6, 2009 at 8:37 am #1001470Up::0we 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!May 13, 2009 at 12:37 pm #1001471Up::0Devan, post: 542 wrote: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 !!
May 14, 2009 at 6:15 am #1001472Up::0I 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.
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