Web Applications

Web sites have evolved tremendously from the first web sites in university and military information collaboration. Back in the mid to late 90's, the "Internet" was far more than just a web browser. Other information sharing protocols such as gopher, usenet, and ftp were far more common than they are today. The world wide web was only one component of the "Internet".

Today, web sites have become the dominant information display system on the Internet and email has become the dominant message communication standard. As such, more an more business software needs have moved from traditional applications (those which require installation on a PC) to interconnected web applications.

Web Application Advantages

Web applications have become increasingly more common as they pose a number of advantages:

• Access Anywhere: Web applications are not limited to the computer they are installed in. Access your account info, check sales targets, modify your own web site, or process orders from any computer connected to the internet, whether you're in the airport, in the office, at home, or on a vacation island (not that we would encourage this).
• Better Versioning: Software is constantly evolving due to customer input, changing needs, and better technologies. Furthermore, no software is completely bug free. As the web application is a hosted app, a new change, patch, or added functionality is available for all users instantly, reducing installation and maintenance costs.
• Rapid Development: Web applications take advantage of the various technologies available today and as the Internet is the most pervasive and most used computer technology today, consorted efforts are always trying to improve the tools and functions available to it. As such, new features and functions allow more rapid development of these applications.

Web Application Disadvantages

Of course, web applications have a number of disadvantages:

• Incompatible Standards: Various web browsers (Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Apple Safari, Google Chrome, Opera, iPhone, etc.) render the same HTML code differently. Older browsers don't support new features, increasing the costs of development and forcing compromises in what can be done.
• Requires Internet Connection: A web application requires constant internet access, which is often difficult for road-warrior sales/marketing people who may not always have access to an Internet connection.
• Speed and Features: Web applications aren't as fast or feature rich as traditional software applications as the web was not built with this in mind. However, with new technologies such as DHTML and AJAX, coupled with generally faster internet connections, web applications are quickly becoming as feature rich and as fast as traditional software applications.