The Changing Face of Software

The right software can greatly enhance the productivity of business users. However, traditional tools are not always suited to the modern business landscape, where people may work from home or a local Starbucks as easily as a cubicle. Likewise, associations and nonprofits may have committees and boards who lack access to the same physical network, creating a barrier to collaboration.

Software as a Service

Fortunately, the last two years have seen a remarkable level of growth in decentralized, Web-based applications, often described by the term "Software as a Service" (SaaS). Because this type of software is accessed through a Web browser, it's available to anyone with an Internet connection. Even better, many of the most useful tools are available at no cost. When there are fees, SaaS applications have an additional (and significant) advantage over traditional offline software. Pricing usually takes the form of a subscription which can generally be changed or canceled at will, making the cost of commitment very low.

Alternatives to Existing Software

With a driving interest in technology (not to mention enormous resources), Google is a leader in providing excellent tools for free. One of its most notable offerings is a collection of applications called Google Docs. This system provides an online alternative for creating and editing text documents, spreadsheets and presentations. It can open and save standard Microsoft Office documents and makes it very easy to share them with others for review and collaboration. Google provides a number of other tools (nearly all free) which provide Web-based alternatives for email, calendars, and even payment processing.

New Opportunities

Web-based software also offers new possibilities for accomplishing tasks that traditional office applications don't handle well. For example, many people resort to email for group communication when it's really better suited to one-on-one correspondence. Services such as our own GroupLoop.com, a committee management tool, aim to solve this problem by organizing discussions and providing specific features for certain kinds of communication like RSVPs and reminders. A business-oriented group chat application called Campfire provides an excellent way to hold a discussion in real time while maintaining a permanent, searchable archive. Blogs and email newsletters provide much more economical and timely methods of communicating with members than traditional printed mailings.

Integration

A common question when considering the adoption of new technologies is how well they may integrate with existing systems. Specifics vary, of course, but in general this is an area that SaaS vendors have worked hard to address. Many services provide open access for developers to write software that extends features or provides access to data so that systems can work together. New data standards are making exchanges of information easier than ever. For example, using Google Calendar to schedule events automatically makes a data feed available that can be used to display those events on a website.

Privacy and Security

Many business users are also concerned about the security of data hosted by Web-based applications. Working this way does mean giving up a certain amount of control. However, it's worth noting that the network-level protection offered by service providers like Google is typically far more robust than what an average business employs to protect its data. The same common-sense guidelines apply to Web applications as offline ones, such as choosing strong passwords. Many providers make their services available over encrypted connections for additional security. It's always a good idea to review a service provider's policies before trusting them with sensitive information, and when the Web browser becomes a platform for delivering software, it's also critical to keep up to date on patches.

The Bottom Line

The modern software landscape offers many new ways of delivering both existing and innovative services through the Web. Adopting SaaS technologies can be an excellent way to gain efficiency while reducing software costs. With a generally low cost of commitment, there's almost certainly at least one area where Web-based software can benefit your business. If you're able to identify such an area but can't find software to meet the need, CWS specializes in developing custom Web applications and we encourage you to contact us for a risk-free discussion.