2016 seems to be the year of mobility and ‘mobile first strategies’, with businesses increasingly developing solutions for the mobile consumer. What first started as a trend set by Apple’s iCloud and application based iOS, followed by Microsoft’s Office 365, has now become the next big thing in business. Moving beyond office applications such as text-based documents, spreadsheets and payroll, businesses creating more demanding, intricate software such as drawing and rendering tools for the AEC industry are jumping on the hosted application bandwagon.
Specialising in hosted applications here at Atlas, we have also noticed the increased interest in making traditionally desktop-based apps available on any device. Here’s why hosted apps are experiencing a growing popularity, and why they’re here to stay:
RELIABILITY
All data is hosted and stored on the web, meaning that the risk of losing data through lost or broken kit is eliminated. Let’s take Ryan as an example. He has just spent the last 4 hours working on his latest project when all of a sudden he spills a glass of water over his laptop. All of Ryan’s hard work is now drowned in a frazzled hard drive with no way to access it. Sounds familiar? The great thing about hosted applications is that both the app and the data are stored in a data centre rather than on a device. All poor Ryan would need to do is find another laptop or PC to connect to the internet and continue where he left off.
EASE OF ACCESS
Ryan also spends hours a week travelling from one office to another. Instead of staring out of a window, these hours could be used to work on projects. With hosted applications he can work from anywhere in the world with an internet connection, enabling mobility, flexible working and collaboration. Since hosted applications aren’t restricted to a specific workstation, Ryan can switch between different devices that suit his needs.
REDUCES PHYSICAL CLUTTER
Hosted applications also remove the need for various pieces of hardware, such as servers or external hard drives. As everything is synced on a regular basis, Ryan doesn’t need to lift a finger when it comes to backing up his work. He also doesn’t require a high-performance PC to run a graphically intense application, eliminating the need to upgrade or replace his PC every few years.
COST EFFICIENT
Money is no longer wasted on unused software and there is no large upfront cost for adopting new technologies as most hosted apps are paid for monthly, per user. It’s also easy to scale up and down depending on what the requirements are for that month, making it very easy for business owners such as Ryan to plan and forecast IT expenditure. Similar to utilities, you only pay for what you use.
EXPERTISE
One of the challenges associated with bringing a new solution in-house is the steep learning curve that goes along with adopting a new technology. Ryan doesn’t want to spend countless hours attempting to self-educate himself (and his staff) on how to deploy and use a complex application when he can have professional service teams on standby ready to assist with any issues that may arise.
