Industry Brief

Web Enabled vs. 100% Web Based IT Help and Customer Support Solutions?

There are hundreds of IT Help, Customer Support and Issue tracking solutions in the market today. Most users want their solution to be Web Based—it simply makes sense in today’s computing environment. But in reality very few solutions are truly 100% web based.

Many vendors’ solutions were designed in the “client/server era” and are only “Web Enabled”. They have not invested time or resources to update their products with Web technology. Rather, they require a Web Add-On Module to enable their client/server solutions to access via the web.

Most prospects we work with go to the web and enter typical search terms like “help desk software” or “customer support solutions”. In return they get a flurry of web sites and web ads that promise a free demo of the solution provider’s “web based” solution. This often shows up in the form of a 4 -7 MB executable that launches an attractive support solution demo. But is it web based? You tell me. Do you have a “Web Application Server” on your desktop? No? Then how can you be seeing a web demo? Not only are you not seeing a web demo, but that is not the solution that you most likely will be purchasing or installing.

You wanted a web based solution, right?

Why?

  • So you have no client side software installation, updates, or support.
  • You want to log in from anywhere, anytime with any browser.
  • You want predictable response times.
  • You want to stay up to date with new releases without upgrading every potential user in your network.

A “Web Enabled” solution and a 100% Web Based solution are not the same, and you need to test the solution that you are installing, not the “canned” demo you have downloaded.

Also, did you know that the functionality you see in a client/server solution is rarely fully implemented in the web enabled version? Even with the extra web add-on you will have to purchase.

Ask the simple questions.

  • Can I see the same identical records and assets in both the web enabled and client server versions?
  • Will response times be the same with either version?
  • And, do you guarantee that?

In reality there are only two ways to demo a 100% Web Solution. Install it on your web server or access the installed solution on the vendor’s web server.

If you can think of another way, please let us know.

Also, please understand we would be in the same position had our solution existed when client/sever solutions were the industry standard. We would be scrambling like our “older generation” competition to piece together a web front end and trying to avoid having to rewrite the entire solution.

Instead, we offer a solution that was built from the ground up to be 100% Web Based, with a Zero Client Footprint, and no client-side Active X controls. And you can be sure that when you demo our solutions, all you will need is your web browser.