Eliminate the problems of computer support - Part 3

My last two posts talked about the benefits of a good computer supplier. My last one talked about the problems caused by buying and installing software on your computers.

This one will look at the benefits of an alternative solution: Renting your software. If you are not convenced yet, go back to my last post and ask yourself if you want to solve these problems. If you don't, then let me describe the benefits, and why you should lease software.

First of all, let's talk about what I mean by leasing software.

There are a number of software products that are available on the Internet. To use these products, you don't buy them and install them on your computer. You simply access them via your browser. Some are free, like google applications, others you pay for using them every month. There are a number of very good products that are available this way and this is the direction that the industry is going.

While you may have to pay something every month, there are significant advantages.

• You pay for only what you use. This means that a large and a small business might use the identical product, but the big business will pay more because they have more users.
  
• When a new version comes out, the supplier is responsible for upgrading it.


• If it doesn't work, you call support and they have the problem of fixing it.


• The exact same software with all of the fixes is used by everyone, so you don't have to worry about keeping it up-to-date.


• Your files are stored on their computers, so they are responsible for backup. If you want to protect yourself more, you can take a backup yourself. You don't have to worry about offsite backup.


• Whether your office is in one location or many, you all have the ability to share it, without having to worry about designing a network.
• Software is not being installed on each of your computers, so you don't have to worry as much about computer maintenance and support.



• No matter how big the software gets, you don't have to worry about upgrading your computer's memory or hard drive. Your PC could last a lifetime.
  

Do all of these benefits make it worthwhile to rent instead of buying? It at least must make it worth considering.

There is another issue that may make it worth considering. When a software supplier sells you a big complex software product, they often surprise you with a big training cost. This package is never enough and even though you get training (see fire hose training), it is never enough. With some of the software that I have tried, they are simple to use. You can use as much of the product as you want, which means less training required and a gradual approach. I intend to look more into this to see how easily a small company can convert all of their business to these products. Some are very comprehensive.