Web or Windows?

Innovations are great, but there are so many coming at us so fast that it’s hard for customers to stay on top of them all.  This is especially true where innovations overlap between technologies.

Take the examples of a web-based vs. a windows-based approach to a user interface.

The Web approach has almost no deployment issues, and is well-accepted.  On the downside, it lags behind a Windows interface in terms of functionality richness, and is also somewhat slower to work with.  And may have certain security issues for external use.

The Windows approach to a user interface is available to almost every user, is very fast, and comes with a very rich set of features.  But the Windows approach requires deployment to each user – although Microsoft .NET’s No-touch deployment is making this almost as easy as the Web approach.

As a vendor, we find ourselves asking “What do customers want?”… Surely they care more about features & functionality and less about deployment details… or not?

Of course, different groups have conflicting points of view.  So we find ourselves in discussions – talking about the technical and market advantages of one approach versus the other.

Now for certain applications, the Web approach is a no-brainer – like booking plane tickets, or reserving a hotel room.  But what about for a full-blown application like Microsoft Word or Excel?  Are these better delivered in a Web or Windows client? 

So it’s a bet.

We want to do what’s best – which means picking the option with least cost, the most functionality, and the happiest customers.  But the answers change so fast.  Today’s answer will surely be obsolete in 5 years.  But without the right answer today… well, you get the point.

Right now, it looks like the Web approach is getting better every day from a usability point of view, but yet Windows client deployment is also getting easier every day – especially with Microsoft and their .NET V2 ClickOnce technology behind it.

Note to self:  Think Hard…. and be sure to talk to customers!

Comments

[Sarma Garimella]

For software products pertaining to Alarm Management, I would recommend ‘Windows.NET’ as the better technology. As incorporation of multiple features are difficult using a Web based platform and a typical alarm display certainly requires multiple selections (e.g., drop down selection for Units, Time periods, types of reports, etc) and which are best done on Window.Net platform. After a detailed review between these two options, a major oil company in Singapore has decided to adopt Windows.Net platform for their new Alarm Enforcement and Documentation application.