Why do all these companies introduce their own web application, and more important, will companies implement these web applications more often than regular applications? To answer this question, first we must define the phenomenon of “web applications”. Like stated by The Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group, “The term Web Application in this context refers to applications accessed over the World Wide Web by using a Web browser”. This is a fairly good definition and will be used as a basis for the rest of this article on web applications.

To find out if companies really should use web applications, we will talk about the advantages and disadvantages of web applications, compared to client/server and desktop applications.

Advantages of web applications
There are a lot of notable advantages when using web applications. All these advantages have a higher purpose of serving the company which are categorised in this list into 2 different categories, namely one category specifying advantages to decrease the TCO (total cost of ownership), and a category specifying how business workflow can be increased through the use of web applications.

Decreased TCO 1: application installation not needed
The installation of an application can cost a company a lot of money, not only hiring the experts to install the application, but also the time that is needed to install the application on the company’s server which might interupt the company’s workflow. The installation of an operating system, including e-mail server software and a backup application might already cost around € 3000,- alone. The configuration of a complete network including the installation of client computers could also cost another € 3000,- or more, depending on the number of clients.

Decreased TCO 2: expensive hardware not necessary
Hardware upgrades are not necessary, because all available computers can still be used. When there is no hardware available yet, a very inexpensive computer of around € 300,- can be purchased. But when companies start using a new server/client application, new hardware like a company server and some client computers is usually necessary. The costs are really dependent but at least € 3000,- will be spent buying new hardware.

Decreased TCO 3: no more expensive software licenses
There is no need to buy any software licenses anymore because an online application is usually paid on a month by month basis. This means there is no need for buying any office applications, e-mail management software, data backup or any other software program. Of course all needed features then have to be available in an online version, which is not always the case. Licenses of various software applications can cost around € 100,- to € 600,- for every employee. When every employee needs around 5 applications, it is obvious that € 1000,- per employee is required.

Decreased TCO 4: automatic updating
Once in every time each application needs to be updated. usually the IT manager needs to apply these updates to every computer, keeping the employee from their computer for like 15 minutes. This will cost the IT manager around 2 hours for 5 computers. This is not a huge problem when an update is provided every month and there is only one application installed, but when we have 10 applications providing updates every week, the company needs to hire an extra IT manager!

When an online application needs to be updated, which is usually every month, it will be done during the night, probably in the weekend, and the update will be ready within 15 minutes for every user at once! Next to that, all applications are always up to date without having to follow the update cycle of every software company.
Decreased TCO 5: updating for free
Most updates are provided as a service when a software application is implemented. This is of course only for the term the software will be used, which is usually around 3 to 5 years. After this period, an application will be upgraded to the newest version which will cost money every time again.

When using a web application, there is always only one version of this application available. There will never be two companies using different versions of a web application because only one version exists. Therefore all updates are provided automatically withoud the need to pay extra every few years again.

Decreased TCO 6: company power usage decreased
When installing a server there will be a higher power usage in the company as a whole. Most servers will run 24/7 and need a high quality power outlet. Next to that there will be a special location for this server which needs a seperate airflow system and possibly an advanced backup system using a lot of power.

Decreased TCO 7: decreased size of IT department
All support of a web application goes through the web application itself. Usually 24/7 telephone and e-mail support is also available. Therefore the IT department can be decreased in size and knowledge. This will save most companies a lot of money every year. When there is no IT department available at all, this will greatly lower the cost of external IT managers.

Decreased TCO 8: migration without changing PC configurations
All computers, whether they have a Microsoft, Linux or any other operating system can be used to access a web application. Even all PDA’s and other mobile hardware can be used if only they have a browser. This means migrating local computers from using an old application to a new web application can be done within a second saving the time of migration.

Decreased TCO 9: information provided more easy, saving costly employee time
When all usable information is directly available to all employees, everyone can help a potentional customer. Every employee can find all information concerning the client within a few clicks. This concerns not only all employees in the building, but also all employees working from home or maybe even from another country.

Decreased TCO 10: no personal training sessions anymore
Users can be provided with an online training through the web application rather than going to a seminar or workshop somewhere to learn how to use an application. It is much more efficient to learn an application on the location where it will be used eventually. Also when something is not completely clear, everyone can induvidually repeat an online training session.

Decreased TCO 11: bugs and problems will be fixed on the server
When a problem occurs, someone from the software company will stop by to solve the problem. Usually within a few hours. When this problem can be fixed on the main server of the web application, first of all this will cost less time because the main server can always be accessed through the internet, and next to that, the problem will be solved for all other users at once, so less problems will occur, and less bugs will remain unsolved.

Decreased TCO 12: Centralised updates eliminate backward compatibility issues
Every web application only has one version, this means all old data will be available through the same program forever. When a new desktop application arrives, sometimes old documents have compatibility issues. To keep a backward compatibility there has to be some sort of software version control, which is never an issue in any web application.

Decreased TCO 13: a web application will work from everywhere
There is no need to buy different versions of applications for different devices. A web application will work on any device with a web browser available. Also the web application can be used interchangeable through different computers or mobile devices. This means of course a huge advantage in freedom of use and lower costs.

Increased workflow 1: backups, backups, backups
In a good web application backups are always available, and information can be restored with a single click or phone call. When a web application is used the data will be backed up automatically i.e. every day, and next to that can be backed up by every company itself at any given time, including an optional download of the backup. Restoring the backup is also not a problem, this can be done in the web application itself without any knowledge of backup applications. Backing up company data is often done inconsistently or might even be forgotten sometimes.

Increased workflow 2: first class protection against material damage
A web server on which the web application resides is located in a datacenter, a top safe environment with protection against fire, intruders, power loss and any other form of possible material damage. A datacenter can be compared to an advanced locked safe, or the black box inside a plane.

Increased workflow 3: first class protection against virtual damage
All company data is on the software side more safe than any application server in any company in the world. These web application servers are made to be protected against virusses and hackers. Their only task is to keep data secure, therefore professionals are working every day to make sure the security of data is not comprimised.

Increased workflow 4: access from anywhere in the world
24 hours a day, 7 days a week, employees or agents located at different locations, on the road or even overseas, all have direct access to current information.

Increased workflow 5: better sharing
When employees work together there will be more efficiency in the company, but this will only work when their software works with them, therefore web applications are the ideal software to make sure people can work together because everyone is actually still working in the same system, while being on a different location.

Increased workflow 6: real time online connections are very easy
Credit card verification is only one of the examples which is made easy due to the use of web applications. Also VoIP is one of the highly anticipated new features of web applications. Due to the fact that these web applications already completely run online there is a huge advantage in using web applications over regular server/client applications.

Increased workflow 7: website is maintained automatically
All company information can, if needed, directly be shown through the company’s website or can be used for other purposes where it can improve business. This means all information to be used only has to be entered once, to save more time and to minimize the possibility of errors.

Increased workflow 8: documentation always up to date
When having 10 software applications installed, a company will need a small archive to keep all documents delivered with these applications, in case someone might need it one day. When that day arrives, the documentation of the software is probably already outdated or maybe even lost. When this documentation is online, it can stay up-to-date and can always be found online, ready to print or read by anyone who needs it.

Increased workflow 9: try before buy
Usually there is an online demo available for companies to test a web application. When a new application needs to be implemented, companies can test a few of these applications themselves, before all salespeople come by to sell the product.

Increased workflow 10: platform independent
Whether a company wants to use a Mac, a PC or any combination of these and other devices, they can access the same software through the internet browser. These choices are usually neccesary due to other aspects i.e. the need for an apple workstation to do video editing while using Outlook on a Windows based device to keep an agenda or planning.

Disadvantages of web applications
Although not many, some of these disadvantages are pretty serious so we need to take a very close look at the disadvantages.

Disadvantage 1: authentication required
Logging in with a username and password is required everytime the user wants to use the application. Of course certain options are available to work around this problem so this is only a small problem, but the fact remains that with or without user input, a user has to be logged into the system first before it can be used. This is totally different than for example a desktop Word application.

The reason for this authentication is that one user can access the application from different locations on different computers or handhelds. Therefore the application cannot automatically determine who wants to log into the application from what device. This of course also provides some extra form of security because nobody can go and sit behind someone else’s computer and use the application in a wrong way.

Disadvantage 2: limited uptime
A professional internet connection is a must have, because whenever the internet connection fails, a web application cannot be used at all. A warranty of 99,6% uptime is industry standard. Still this means that every year the system might not be available for about 8 full hours. Of course dependent on the company’s wishes, this warranty can be extended to 99,9%. But this usually comes at a price most small companies cannot afford. In some cases however the uptime warranty can be only 95%. This means the web application is not reachable for one whole working day each month. This might be a serious problem for some companies. In order to seriously use a web application, companies need to make sure they have a connection with an uptime warranty of at least 99,6%.

Disadvantage 3: impossibilities
Some software cannot yet be executed in a browser, for example highly interactive photo edit software. There is no solution for this problem aside from the fact that when the need in the market for these kind of applications arises, the browsers will be ready and the internet connection speed will be ready too. The devellopment of photo edit software i.e. is also a very long and difficult process, so it will take some time before these applications arrive and are ready to be used in the mainstream market.

Disadvantage 4: trustworthy hosting provider
People are not yet confident with storing company critic information outside their own company. This is probably the biggest disadvantage of all. Companies are not well informed about the safety of their data, or simply do not trust the hosting provider. This problem might be overcome by time, but for now it is still a serious problem.

Disadvantage 5: service level agreements
When problems occur with company critic applications, it is always important to solve these problems as soon as possible. And with every serious software company a service level agreement (SLA) can be purchased. This is usually purchased on monthly fee, and can be very expensive depending on the quality of the service. This is no different in web applications, except for the fact that an SLA is absolutely necessary because only the software company can solve this problem, when with server/client applications it might in some cases be possible to have the IT department solve all problems.

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