Software Is Becoming Webware

Do you need an expensive installation of Siebel CRM at your company when you could subscribe to Salesforce.com via the Web for a fraction of the cost? Do you need Microsoft Word when you can use a Web-based application such as Writely? Should you utilize Excel Spreadsheet software or would Tracker,  a lower cost, Web-based application be a better option? Is Microsoft Outlook your only choice, or would a browser-based app such as Zimbra be better? Is it necessary to buy personal productivity software to install on your computer, or would it make more sense to take advantage of easy-to-use Web-based tools such as 30Boxes, Basecamp, Campfire, or Backpack?

In the months and years ahead, many people and companies are going to be asking questions like those above.

For almost every category of software there are now (or soon will be) Web-based applications that use your Web browser as the “operating system.” There is no software to buy with these Web applications, however, most require a subscription to use. They largely eliminate cross platform issues (Windows, Mac, etc.). With Web-based apps you have access to your software and data wherever you have Internet access…even if you don’t have your own computer. On the flip side, if you don’t have access to the Net, you’re out of luck.

Many traditional software companies will argue that these Web applications are not nearly as robust as the desktop software programs that have been around for years. That is certainly the case, and by no means is Webware going to be the answer to everything. However, for many people, an easier Web-based system that gets used is superior to more complex traditional software that does not. Seth Godin makes this point emphatically, if you want to watch a 48-minute video clip of his talk to the people at Google. Simple is also the battle cry at 37 Signals, the people that developed a number of the products listed at the beginning of this post.

Another advantage to many Web-based applications is that they have been engineered from the ground up to operate in the wildly collaborative environment of the Web 2.0 era.

Increasing access to broadband Web, plus new tools such as Ruby On Rails and Ajax are accelerating this process. This whole Webware arena is heating up fast and it is looking like another tipping point event.