10 advantages of web based solutions

The significant changes that have happened since the evolution of web-based applications have put it at a fair advantage when compared to the traditional desktop applications.

Over the years, the usage of web-based solutions have accelerated at a fast rate and has reached a peak point where literally every corporate giant and every home owner makes use of them in some form or the other. With the significant changes that have been happening with these applications, it is no wonder if the threat of security has plagued them all. Fortunately, experts in the field of hackers have learnt to counter these problems by taking protective measures.

You must have heard of Google Docs, Gmail, Hotmail and similar applications because they are popularly known web-based applications. But here is a small list of lesser known web applications which you would love to know about, and use.

15Five

An incredible, high-yielding application that works as an inter-company program. This is an employee social feedback and reporting system designed to boost the morale of the employees while examining their productivity. Employees can write reports of their tasks and this would later be read by the employer. This is a quick feedback method that would probably just take five minutes of employee time.

Rapportive

Rapportive, recently acquired by LinkedIn is a free add-on for Safari, Google Chrome and Firefox. Through this application, you can see all the details pertaining to your Gmail contacts. Apart from their names, you can get to know their geographical location, field of expertise and even a small profile picture. The idea is to generate concrete relationship with people and continue the rapport irrespective of where they are located.

HelloFax

When traditional fax machines are considered machines of bygone days and are assigned to the place where dinosaurs have already reached, there comes the era of HelloFax. You can now receive faxes in your email inbox and view the same in any device (computer, mobile, laptop, smartphone, tablet, etc.). All good things come with a price, and so does this. So you would have to choose a plan depending on the need.

Check out the business advantages of web-based applications:

1. A cost-effective option

Businesses are always into cost effective options to improve their ROI. Most of the web-based solutions can be used within a single operating system eliminating the need for different solutions for different browsers. This makes operation and troubleshooting easier, especially for those applications that use Flash front end. It is also cost-effective because it eliminates the need of printed materials while giving the option of customizing the details online. This feature of cross-platform operability is available for Windows, Linux or Mac OS systems proving itself much better than traditional software.

2. Low maintenance feature

The end-user enjoys reduced support and maintenance, thanks to the unified and simplified structure of these applications. This allows the users to concentrate on tasks at hand and increase qualitative output. It is possible to streamline business operations and enjoy further reduction in maintenance costs.

3. Easily customizable

The user interface of all web-based solutions has an interesting design that makes it easy to use and manage. The look and feel of the applications are configured in such a way that anybody can handle the same without any hassles. As time is of essence, people would be put off by unwieldy applications and they go for better options whenever possible. This has prompted all the applications to be made user-friendly to different user groups.

4. Deployable for extra convenience

Web-based solutions achieve large-scale deployability with existing back-end applications. The fact that these solutions have become ubiquitous is the result of the huge amount of research and development that have gone into them, especially when they have to be portable across various computing platforms. The challenge lies in the fact that they have to be flexible enough like traditional tools so they become extensible by end users.

5. Moving complex data systems

In organizations where complex data systems need to be moved around through delicate means, these web-based applications step in to provide a consolidated form so the data movement would be safe and without issues. And that’s not all, users get to enjoy an impenetrable additional layer of security as well.

6. No need to install

As web-based applications don’t require installation, these can be easily handled through a browser. They are accessible anywhere, any time as long as there is a computer with internet connection. This allows the user to decide when and where he wants to use the application.

7. Easily customizable

Web-based applications can be easily customized when compared to desktop applications. This is a boon for people who are not quite up to the mark when it comes to handling applications in the computer. Not only that, users can easily update the look and feel of these applications depending on the different user-groups they are useful for.

8. Easy to maintain

Web-based applications are easy to maintain; once the upgrades are installed on the host server, the users can access it from wherever they are located. As long as your browsers are updated and you have new plug-ins, it would be easy to upgrade.

9. Excellent security

The servers on which web-based applications are deployed are normally dedicated servers. These are monitored by highly professional server administrators, so the threat of security is eliminated.

10. Can handle increased workload

It is easy to add new servers to handle the workload in a web-based application. Web-based software can easily run on several servers simultaneously.

Conclusion:

Web-based applications are thus easier to handle, maintain, develop and upgrade. This allows businesses to streamline their systems and reduce costs.

Interesting links:
Web Agency about the benefits of Online Applications
Wikipedia about the topic

Photos: Flickr.com/ Hatfield/ Gray/ Galvez


The author: Reema Oamkumar is engaged as a thought leader at Software-Developer-India.com which is a part of the YUHIRO Group. YUHIRO is a German-Indian enterprise which provides programmers to IT companies, agencies and IT departments.

2 Comments
  1. Also, we are looking for 10 disadvantages of web based solutions. Thank you.

    • Great feedback. We will write something about that 🙂

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