the rise of web computing

8/14/2019 The Rise of Web Computing

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en was the last time you used a fax machine? A film camera? A vinyl

record? Technologies evolve, they evolve constantly, and they evolve in

spurts and spirals, often throwing out the old for the benefit of the new. The

phenomenon is also referred to as disruptive innovation (Clayton M. Christensen,

1995). Just like in the case of payphones being replaced by mobile phones, faxes by

email, mainframes by personal computers, new disruptive technologies are often

not as fast and dont offer as

many features at the start, but

they offer a key advantage over

the existing technology

anything from cost, to size,

mobility, or convergence with

other technology.

h

Personal Computer technology

was a disruptive technology

back at the time of mainframes

and expensive workstations, but

with time it has gotten verycomplex, burdened by layer after layer of software designed to deal with

compatibilities, threats, legacy, or bridging the gaps between various software

platforms.

Organizations today feel this burden by having to worry about installing and

maintaining applications, supporting myriads of potential end users problems,

managing servers, managing risks, while trying to keep up with the pace of

innovation in the market. IT departments often have multi-year backlogs on things

that matter most providing business users with the tools they need to compete in

the market.

The trend that promises to break the vicious cycle and provide a computing

platform where the benefits are clear and quick to realize, without the exorbitant

expense of maintenance and deployment is Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model,

Moderro Technologies www.Moderro.com -(800) 658-9602 | The Rise ofCloud Computing

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where the applications are hosted (maintained) by the application vendor

themselves, allowing businesses to deploy software quickly without any artificial

barriers, and leaving IT to provide value-added services to the businesses in

recommending, evaluating, and configuring the business platforms.


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The table below illustrates some of the benefits of web-centric computing in

comparison to a standard PC software architecture across the myriad of

considerations that come into play:

** PC Computer ** ** SaaS/Cloud Computer **

Manageability Managing a PC environment

requires several levels of

management and myriad of

complex systems. Operating

Systems have to be patched

and managed, data and

application rights have to be

managed, backups have to be

managed, data stores have to

be managed, licenses have tobe managed. This all adds up to

tremendous overhead and

opportunity for errors.

0 1 Only application-level

permissions have be managed in

the SaaS model with appropriate

hardware.

Productivity Client-server applications

promote individual contribution,

with individuals working on their

individual assignments.

Collaboration using a PC is

dependent on compatibility of

the application versions and a

common broker server (such as

Sharepoint) to facilitate such

collaboration. The collaborationare limited in scope and

participation

0 1 SaaS Computing stretches far

beyond individual work, and

enables real collaboration with

multiple people working or

having visibility to same set of

documents. This collaborative

nature of web applications opens

great opportunities for furthering

productivity.

Supporting

Infrastructure

Traditional Client-Server PC

infrastructure requires a heavy

back-office investment.

Servers, server OSs, SQL

servers, Directory Servers,

Collaboration servers, File

Servers, Intranet Servers, etc

0 1 SaaS dont require internal

server infrastructure, the server

part is handled by the application

providers.

Rate of Innovation Client-server applications

require client-side updates. The

vendors have to go through a

rigorous testing and releaseprocesses. The end-user

organizations have to go

through testing and release

processes of their own. The

average timeline between

releases for shrink-wrap

software is 2-3 years.

0 1 Web Applications dont have the

constraints that non-SaaS

software titles face, they can and

are released often. The releasesare small and quick and bring the

innovations at a much faster

rate. The end-user organizations

also do not need to get involved

in testing and release processes,

saving valuable IT resources.


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Data Portability Using the same application

[data] on several different

computers involves non-trivial

synchronization. The

synchronization often leavesmuch desired and is imprecise

0 1 Theres no need for data

synchronization with web-based

applications all data is

persistent and belongs to the

application, and can be accessedfrom any device.

Compatibility PC applications facilitate several

people collaborating on a

document by hoping that all the

reviewers have the same

version of the application or by

resorting to lowest common

denominator format that

everyone can understand at the

expense of producing bloated

files and loosing the advanced

capabilities of the program.

o 1 File compatibility problem does

not exist in Software-as-a-Service

environment as all the

participants are working with the

same version of the application

and data is stored in the

database rather than a file.

Flexibility PCs have long been abattleground between flexibility

and control. While flexibility to

install any application they like

is great for the end user, it

creates a nightmare situation

for the IT department, who want

to tighten up on security,

licensing, and software

problems.

0 1 SaaS Computing retain thebenefits of flexibility allowing

most web applications to run

within confines of the browser

platform, while preventing any

local resident application from

being installed, thus maintaining

a great level of control.

Repair and Recycling Repairing a PC because of failed

power supply or broken hard

disk drive is a frequent

occurrence. Repair costs rangefrom $150 to $1,200 at $150/hr

rate

PC disposal costs range from

$85 to $136. IT organizations

have to rely on 3rd parties to

destroy the data

0 1 Repair and Disposal costs are

much smaller in comparison.

Theres no data to recover. Web

Computers are disposable.

Viruses and Spyware Viruses and spyware install

resident software on computers

in order to tap into users data

and proliferate. In order to

protect from viruses and

spyware, additional softwaremust be installed and updated

frequently

0 1 Viruses and Spyware of thing of

the past for SaaS Computing

model. Using Internet

Computers like Moderro XPack

with read-only operating

systems, no unauthorizedsoftware can be installed.

Data Loss Data Recovery costs range from

$400 to $2,000, plus shipping.

There are no guarantees

0 1 Theres no data loss with SaaS as

all the data is stored by the

application provider who takes

care of data integrityLicense Management License Management is a 0 1 License management with Web


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serious issue for the IT

department with the traditional

PC infrastructure one that

requires management protocols

and lots of tracking systems. ITis also exposed to the license

terms breach if they allow end-

user application installs.

Computer is a non-issue as the

licenses are managed by the

application vendors directly.

Data Back-ups PCs require data backup. Data

backup is NOT trivial!

Incremental backups are tricky

and backing up laptops is

intermittent.

0 1 No backups required. The data is

stored with the application and

data integrity is preserved by the

application provider.

Data Security Traditional PCs in a client-server

model save data locally. This

leads to the data being hacked,

files stolen. Alternative

solutions such as Citrix ICA helpprotect the data, but require

costly infrastructure investment.

0 1 The data is stored online and is

not represented by a file that can

be compromised or stolen.

Document Versioning Versioning documents is

typically done by keeping copies

around ad-hoc. Doing this

bodes badly for backups and is

imprecise at best. Distributed

(shared) documents are not

kept-up-to-date.

0 1 Versioning is automatic with

most document authoring

solutions. Document sharing is

simple, with the recipient always

looking at the latest version of

the document.

Its easy to see from this data that SaaS/Cloudcomputing has a great future in the

business world. Businesses are able to decrease their IT costs while gaining

productivity and competitive advantages.


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SaaS Applications Profiles

Office SuiteOffice applications is one category that almost no business can live without. Email,

Calendaring, Document Authoring, Spreadsheets, and Presentations have become

the quintessential productivity tools in todays office. Luckily, web versions of

these applications have matured to the point of sophistication and feature richness

that meets or exceeds their desktop counterparts.


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Strong Players:

Zoho, Google


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Business ApplicationsCustomer Relationships Management (CRM) systems, ERP, Billing, Databases,

Business Process Management(BPM), and Situational Software (software designedby non-programmers) are the types of business applications available as web-

based applications-on-demand.

Strong Players:

Salesforce.com, LongJump, Coghead


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Project Management and CollaborationProject Management and Collaboration are particularly strong among SaaS

offerings. With choices ranging from simplest to very sophisticated, anyorganization is likely to find a solution that fits its needs.

Strong Players: 37 Signals, Central Desktop, Liquid Planner, Jive, Zoho, Clarizen


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Cloud Computer (End Point)

Efficiencies gained by replacing traditional client-server (thick client) model with the

cloud computing one also open up an opportunity to significantly trim down the

complexity on the client.

Moderro XPack Internet Computer is designed specifically for running web

applicationsin the most efficient manner. Solid state, space saving design together

with an operating system built for and around web applications, and a

capable internet management back-end set this product squarely in the center of

web-computing experience.


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