Get the most from your host

All of a sudden, hosted software is the belle of the ball. When folks first thought of it, we called it the application service provider technology. Now we’re calling it software as a service, or even more nebulous: Web 2.0.

Don’t get me wrong; I like the idea. In fact, I’m committed to it. Our own small software effort is firmly entrenched in the concept of Web-deployed application functionality. But be advised: Not every hosted application is equal. There are many ways to skin this particular feline, and some have sharper claws than others.

For example, my software company is following the “straight” way (and it’s straight only because it’s the oldest and most mature all-Web method): namely Java on the server and JavaScript on the client. It’s a pig for performance, but it is specifically built for this deployment model and is robust on all the major platforms, especially Windows. Intelligent tweaking can make up for resource hogging, and functionality is getting more advanced everyday.

Some companies, however, go to an older school. Intuit’s MRI Real Estate accounting application, for example, is available as a hosted version. But it’s not Web-based; it uses Citrix. What’s more, it’s using Citrix on the front and a Windows NT Server 4.0 bank on the back. This makes me nervous from a reliability standpoint, and it also has repercussions in case of a sudden disconnect if your Web pipe drops. You can’t just accept a vendor’s claim to “be hosted”; you need to find out specifically how it’s hosted and then find out whether that technology is right for you.

For its part, Microsoft has a slew of technologies capable of delivering hosted-style applications but has most recently chosen to continue its use of Active Server technology in its BPL (Business Portal Lite ) site. BPL offers a Web-based thin-client front end that hooks to an ASP-based back-end running the Solomon ERP product. This is certainly functional, but it’s a far cry from Web 2.0.

Other vendors have their own “hosted” solutions, and here you’ll find the term varies in meaning. For my company, MRI, and for Microsoft’s BPL, for instance, hosting means offering our specific product via the Web, typically for cheaper implementation and licensing costs. For others, however, hosting can simply mean the act of managing the server farm. E-mail hosting is a popular example of this, with numerous vendors offering “24/7 hosting of Microsoft Exchange.” That does have its benefits if you don’t have Exchange talent on staff, but for the most part, you’ll still be paying Microsoft a client/server-style licensing fee for the software.

New offerings — from companies as small as NetSuite to those as large as Siebel or Sun — intend to blend these features. These companies intend to offer dedicated software products in a hosted model while also offering a variety of “customized” hosting options for customer-owned software at managed facilities. For example, Siebel will offer a fully hosted version of its CRM but will give customers the option of integrating that with software from Microsoft, Oracle, or SAP — and though this software must be purchased by the customer, it can be managed by Siebel or managed by another hosting outfit with all client access handled via the Internet.

It’s an exciting concept, but still dangerous. The two biggest dangers are the two biggest unknowns: cost and the reliability of the Internet. Licensing in the hosted model used to be straightforward back in the ASP days; that was the selling point, after all. But today, it’s often highly convoluted. Be sure to analyze this part carefully and then compare it with the cost of an in-house solution.

The Web is the next danger. Broadband has certainly become cheaper, but even today, Internet connectivity isn’t as reliable as a dial tone. Hosting any critical application off-site means dealing with a certain amount of downtime. If your app can’t handle that, then hosted of any kind isn’t for you.

That said, most metropolitan areas have plenty of options for backing up Internet connectivity. It’s certainly feasible to build a broadband Internet gateway that’s just about as reliable as an internal network. You’ve just got to take that step seriously, factor those costs into your hosted savings model, and do your homework. Simply plugging in to Verizon Business DSL may be cheap, but that won’t cut it if your app is critical.