Online tool or desktop program

...the individual focus decides.

Companies and private individuals alike are regularly spoilt for choice when it comes to selecting software solutions: should they use a web tool or a desktop program? If you feel the same way, the following lines may help you. They illustrate the specific advantages of both variants. Generally speaking, it all depends on your individual focus.

Web tool: An online software solution

The term web tool is often used on the net with different meanings, so let's briefly explain what exactly is meant by it: it is a software solution or a program that is used over the net. Often you can also read the phrase "Software as a Service" (SaaS) for this. Specifically, the tool can work with the help of a cloud, for example - but it doesn't have to. A desktop program, in turn, is stationary on a computer.

These advantages are offered by a web tool

The biggest advantage offered by a web tool can unfortunately hardly be translated correctly with an expression in German language. In English, we speak of "multi-tenant" capability. If you were to translate it literally, the term would mean "multi-tenant" capability. Often it is made to mean "multi-tenant" capability. This is insufficient: "multi-tenant" means not only that the tool can be used by multiple users, but also with multiple devices. For example, you can use it on the go. If you are on the way to a customer and want to make some entries directly mobile with a smartphone, this is possible without any problems. Moreover, "multi-tenant" also means that the tool can be used by several departments at the same time. Different users can be granted different rights.

Another advantage of a web tool is that you do not have to worry about downloads, backups and updates. These are automatically imported by the provider. Most providers run at least two backups in the background - your data is thus usually better protected against loss than is the case with a desktop program.

Moreover, resources can usually be easily added or canceled again. If the web tool does not initially meet your needs, you can adapt it later. If the tool runs via an API ("open interface"), you can also couple it with other programs. For example, if you want to retrieve data from the software solution on the go and use it in another app, the interface proves to be very valuable.

In many places, you can also read that the corresponding tools run platform-independently. It doesn't matter which operating systems are working in the background. While this is not entirely false, it must be qualified. For example, if you want to use the tool on the go, you need optimization for Android or iOS. Furthermore, if you want to export data from the tool, it may matter if you use, for example, the classic Windows applications that are often necessary for this (especially Excel).

These are the advantages of a desktop program

A desktop program usually means a one-time expense. You purchase it and receive, for example, two years of full update support. Monthly expenses, which are the rule for web tools, are mostly not necessary. As long as the computer is not on the Internet, a desktop program is also protected against external attacks. With tools, moreover, it can happen that advertisements are switched. This is usually not the case in stationary programs. As far as storage capacity is concerned, you can book a large volume online, but this is associated with surcharges. If you want to use a tool on the move, you almost always have to accept this. In terms of storage capacity, the cheaper option is therefore the stationary program on the home PC.

Conclusion

If you have to do routine work on your PC alone and do not want to use the software on the move, for example, you should use a stationary program. If the solution is to be used with different devices and/or by different users, the online tool is superior.