It’s Appening For Business Too…

Just mention the word ‘app’ and to most people it will conjure up images of iPhones, Blackberrys, iPads and various App Stores. Such images are hardly surprising. Since Apple’s original App Store went live in June 2008, over 18 billion consumer apps have been downloaded by iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad users worldwide. Billions more have been downloaded from other stores too, so that today total downloads exceed over 20 billion apps… and that number’s growing all the time.

But just as consumer apps have revolutionised the distribution of consumer software, web based apps are quietly revolutionising the distribution of professional software too. Like any consumer app, a web based enterprise app is simply software accessed over the internet, which helps users complete specific tasks.

So what are the advantages of web based, enterprise apps to business? And why are more and more organisations opting for web apps provided on a ‘software as a service’ (SAAS) basis instead of traditional, locally installed, distributed software? Well, for starters:

• Web apps don’t require any complex "roll out" procedure when deployed in organisations. All that’s needed is internet access and a compatible web browser;
• Web apps require little or no storage space, reducing hardware ad support costs;
• They upgrade automatically. Unlike traditional, locally installed software, there’s no requirement need to distribute upgrades to each individual user. Instead, all upgrades are implemented remotely and delivered automatically to each user the next time they log on;
• Web apps can be integrated seamlessly into other web procedures e.g. e-mail;
• They provide cross-platform compatibility and can be accessed using almost any web enabled device.
• Web apps permit real time sharing and updating. Put simply, everyone can work off the latest version of any document, presentation, project or spreadsheet.
• When dealing with a web app specialist such as Crafty Devil, you’re dealing directly with the team who built the app, instead of a a third party reseller who may know a lot about selling software, but much less about supporting it.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be taking a closer look at the advantages web apps offer businesses. In the meantime, if you’d like to find out more… why not call us on 028 9099 8597, e-mail hello@craftydevil.co.uk or complete our online contact form?