What Happens When I Need One More Application?
What Happens When I Need One More Application?
subtitle: Not all application hosting models are the same
Personal computers networked together in an office makes file sharing and collaboration easier. Installing additional applications to the PC is a relatively simple process, and when the new application has an integration with one already on your PC, it is often fairly easy to get the two "talking" together. But installing and integrating applications on your personal computer is a bit different from getting multiple applications installed and integrated with a hosting service provider.
In most cases, integrating desktop software solutions requires installing those solutions on the same computer so that they can share certain program elements or, at least, share data. Application integrations are important because they allow different software solutions to work together, usually passing data from one application to the other so it can be used in different ways. An example of this might be a Microsoft Office integration with QuickBooks, which allows the user to perform a one-click export of QB financial data to an Excel spreadsheet. Another example is the integration between QuickBooks and Fishbowl Inventory, which synchronizes information from the Fishbowl inventory system into the QuickBooks financial software. In most cases, when a software program has a software-based integration with another solution, the integration must be installed in the same system as the core solution. You could not run QuickBooks Web Connector, for example, from a machine that wasn't able to access the QuickBooks program or the data file. They must be running on the same systems.
In a PC/network environment, this requirement to install the solutions together is not such a big deal - software and integrations have been implemented in this manner for years. However, when looking to run your desktop and network applications in the cloud, as with a hosting service provider, you'll want to make certain that the provider has the platform and the experience to make those integrations work.
There are a few ways that an application hosting service provider can offer integrated applications, with the two primary methods being through customized server implementations or via application virtualization. Today, most vendors elect to use the customized server approach, as the technology used to virtualize applications does not always address the various data and session sharing needs of the integration. A customized server approach simply means that systems are customized for the unique needs of the client, rather than offering only a prescribed set of applications or integrations.
In a shared services environment, the systems are generally all configured to be alike, and have the same applications and integrations installed on them for use by all users. You can host the applications the environment offers, but nothing else. This "vanilla" approach to hosting is very popular among QuickBooks and other hosting providers, as it delivers an economy of scale to the platform and helps providers retain a reasonable level of profit margin on the service delivery even as the service becomes commoditized. The difficulty arises when a customer needs one more application to run their business. The shared services provider may not be able to provide service for the new application, as it would require implementation throughout the shared systems. Installing and managing such an application for a single user in a shared service environment is typically not justifiable.
This need for diversity in applications often drives service providers to attempt to meet their customers' needs in the form of offering "virtual servers" and other options. While it is encouraging to see providers attempt to meet the broad needs of their client bases, it can also be a very frustrating experience when the provider does not have the experience nor the expertise to manage a widely diverse application offering. It may be a fairly simple process to develop an application hosting model around a single solution, but extending that offering to a broad range of solutions and integrations may be too much for the provider to reasonably handle.
Another consideration, particularly for the service provider, is the business goal for the service. If application hosting, such as QuickBooks hosting, is being provided simply to facilitate garnering new bookkeeping clients, then the service provider is focusing on areas other than the management of the technology platform and applications and should not attempt to introduce too much diversity into the platform. If the hosting provider is also a software developer, then the hosting service may be viewed as a value-add, or a way to facilitate adoption of their proprietary solution. In this case, it may be difficult to get them to host other applications they may view as competitive to the proprietary solution.
The key is to first have an understanding of the applications and integrations your business needs, and then to find a hosting provider that can deliver that. It's impossible to second-guess every future need of the business, so decisions can only be reasonably made based on information available today. However, recognize that a change in application requirements will at minimum require adjustment to the hosting service and, in some cases, could require a change in providers altogether. Before you sign with an application hosting service provider, consider the current application needs of the business. Then, look a little into the future and consider the next likely implementation. If you give considerations to current and potential future requirements, it will help you select a service provider that has the ability to meet your current needs and those you forecast for the near future.
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