I know Google and many others are busy developing web based applications to allow you to do all your business over the web – but anyone who uses this type of set up is asking for big trouble. Sure this would be good for the home user who may need a particular type of office software for a short period – say you need to prepare a presentation, hire it over the web for a few days for a few bucks. But not for everyday use.
Here’s a few problems with this for a work system.
1. Laws on privacy and data protection – hard to manage when sending them back and forth over the web.
2. Security of the data itself, don’t want the opposition to sneak a look at your bids etc.
3. Ready access to the data – hey the ISP link’s down, so is the whole business.
4. Cost of maintenance – what if the host service decides to double their charges, hard to shift it all.
5. Are the hosts going to provide ALL your productivity software via the net? Who will see it’s maintained at the level you require.
6. What if the host wants to upgrade to a new version and it’s not compatible with some of your old records or data – just try opening Word 6 documents in Word 2003 or Word 2007 and you’ll see what I mean.
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Sure, I can see an advantage to the IT department of a major business in having a web based applications system set up IN YOUR OWN INTRANET off your internal web server. One update ensures everyone is updated, also ensures all data is stored on the controlled and managed servers. This is perfect for the business, as long as the applications and servers are in-house systems, not out on the Internet. But this isn’t what’s being offered or touted.
OK people, what are YOUR thoughts on these apsects and others?