Working Smarter, Together

As a small business grows, one of the key challenges is how to effectively organise themselves to work together as a team.  Businesses which manage to work together as an organisation are far better placed to continue to grow and can work much more efficiently.  Companies which fail to work as a single organisation, instead working as a collection of individuals, will struggle to grow and increase their efficiency.

As an example a company we interacted with recently had no centralised file server for their data.  Each person had their own personal files and folders and they relied on USB drives to pass files around the office.  Each person was their own little island of data.  As a consequence work was often duplicated, while other work failed to be completed.  Duplicate copies of files meant that staff were never quite sure where the 'official' version of a file was.  This not only affected staff, it also affected customers.

Although implementing a fileserver is quite straight-forward in a single office, small companies often fail to properly organise their data, and each user still maintains their own files and folders, they are just stored centrally.  If the business has more than one location, or wants the staff to be able to work from alternate locations (like home or a customer site) then how to access that central fileserver from the alternate locations becomes an additional problem that can drive data out into isolation on users laptops.

An Integrated Business Needs Integrated Software and Data

An integrated business ensures various departments are able to work effectively as part of a single team.  Integrated software and data allows staff to capture information once and for the data to be available in other software used in different parts of the business.  Although this is relatively simple to do within a single location when staff are spread across more than one location, it increases the complexity significantly.

Hosted software makes software available over the Internet.  If staff are in a different part of the city, on opposite ends of the country or the world, they can access their software and data where ever they are provided they have access to the Internet. 

The November 2011 McKinsey Quarterly by McKinsey and Company, the management consultants, suggests that the challenge of the current 'information age' is how we manage the enormous quantities of data we generate.  Companies that find ways to transform the data into business intelligence could create significant competitive advantage.

To transform data into intelligence requires the starting point of business integration which requires, amongst other things, integrated software and data across all locations.  Online50 has tools that can help.

In This Issue:

When Hosted Software Is The Answer

One of the cornerstones of Online50 is that we are a service provider, not a software vendor.  We are not focussed on persuading you to choose a particular software package, we are focussed on providing a service that helps you use your software more effectively.  Part of that service is the ability to scale operations up or down as your requirements change.  Of course we want to provide hosted software services to your business but we recognise that as business needs change sometimes it makes sense for customers to use more or less of our services.

With this in mind, here is an overview of some of the trends that are currenlty moving more businesses into 'the Cloud' to use hosted software.

Faster Response Times Needed

Before email made direct user to user written communications faster and easier, written communications were either despatched as hard copy or faxed.  (The use of Telex was a bit like the use of telegrams - for specific urgent communications, but not really used for general business to business written communications).  Often incoming post was screened by senior staff before being distributed to staff, and all outoging post was reviewed before it was sent.  This gave a high level of control but limited the quantity of written communications that could be sent or received and extended the response time.

Email makes this kind of screening almost impossible to achieve.  This gives less control, but allows a much faster exchange of information.  Many businesses will still consider what kinds of emails can be sent by which members of staff to try and regain a level of control, but to drop email would severely hamper the operations of the organisation.

This trend towards 'instant' communications and operations is one reason why people want to move more of their operations online.

People Expect More Mobile Technology

Laptops accounted for almost 70% of all UK computer sales in Q1 of 2011.¹ One in four adults have a smartphone*, and in July 2011 almost 8% of adults had a tablet pc compared to just under 3% in November 2010.²  People expect their technology to allow them to be more mobile.  On the train you can access social media, news, emails, calendar and contacts all using online software.

The desire to have the tools to work wherever and whenever you need to is another factor that is driving people to use hosted systems.

Operational Efficiency Is Essential, Not Desirable

With a challenging economic climate companies are looking to be as efficient as they can.  Outsourcing non-core activities is becoming increasingly popular as businesses look to concentrate on their core strengths.  With Internet connections becoming cheaper, faster and more reliable it is often practical and cost effective to outsource part or all of the technology infrastructure of the businesss to an online operator, such as Online50.

This trend to achieve more with less is another factor that is drving people to online services.

When Is Hosted Software The Answer?

Comparing Hosted and Browser Based Software

When you decide that an online system would be beneficial for you there are essentially three types of systems you can use.  Hosted software provides standard, familiar, full-featured business desktop applications that you access over the Internet.  Browser based software provides software that is designed to be used in a web borwser (like Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Apple Safari and so on).  Clearly the features and capabilities of different systems will vary but typically browser based applications are not as fully featured as desktop applications, nor do they have such flexible and capable user interfaces because of the limitations of running in a web browser.  The third category is to move all of your computing operations online, including infrastructure.  Online50 offers different products that filfil these types of solution, our most popular product is the Online50 service, which offers hosted software.

Understanding Hosted Software

To compare the operation of hosted software versus browser based software we can use the imperfect but still useful analogy of your mobile phone.

I sometimes call my children while commuting home on the train.  There is a richness to the communication because I don't just hear their words but their emotions and enthusiams - all of which would be lost in text.  When the train goes under a bridge it momentarily loses connection and at times cuts out.  The quality of the call is determined by the quality of the connection.

Hosted software is like a mobile phone call.  Hosted software offers the richness of a full featured business software package.  This is not a lite version, short on features and usefulness.  The user can work in they way they are used to while also enjoying the benefits of the added flexibility offered by hosting.   There is a live interaction between the computer of the user and our server. 

Understanding Browser Based Software

Browser based software on the other hand, is more like texting.  The message is typed into the memory of a phone.  When the text is complete it is sent.  Provided there is a mobile signal, it gets sent, otherwise it just waits until there is next a signal and then it sends the message.  Text messages can be very useful but are hardly the medium you would choose to have a difficult conversation, or indeed, a communication with your small children.  They lack the richness of real conversation.

Browser based software downloads software into the web browser software on the computer as it opens the page.  Users then interact with the web page on their computer, and once the information is fully captured into the browser, it gets sent.

What If The Internet Signal Is Lost?

For hosted software, if the Internet connection is temporarily lost, the user may be unable to work briefly, but when they log back in, all their software will be exactly as they left it.

With browser based software it depends totally on what the programmers have done.  In most cases if the Internet connection is lost, the information is lost and would have to be recaptured.  In some cases the system may store and forward the data once the Internet connection is restored, but only if the web browser is still open on the relevant page.

The General Differentiator

Hosted software is able to offer mature, fully featured industry standard software over the Internet.

Browser based software can be very good, and may be an excellent choice for a specific task, but it is often fairly light on features.

As a general rule, software to capture data (fill in a form) can be implemented easily in browser based software.  Working with and analysing data does not work well within a web browser.

Why Online50?

When we started out ten years ago, we were the only company offering Sage 50 online.  Sage told us it would never work.  Since then there have been a lot of companies who have tried to copy what we do.  Unfortunately it is not as easy as we make it look. 

Every year a lot of businesses discover for themselves why software provided over the Internet requires a credible partner - we end up having to pick up the pieces. 

If you are considering the 'Cloud', here are a few reasons to consider Online50 as your ideal hosting partner.

10 Year Track Record 

Before the term 'Cloud' had been invented Online50 was providing software over the Internet.  Many of the companies who joined us at the beginning are still customers.

Think of how technology has changed over 10 years.  Windows 98 was the main operating system. Pentium III processors were used in most machines and a 10GB hard drive was considered huge.  Most computers were accessing the Internet using a dial up connection.

Over ten years Online50 has managed to innovate and continue to provide software over the Internet to customers through all those changes.  Most recently Online50 made it possible to access full featured business software on an iPad.

Control And Ownership

A number of the recent entrants to the market rent servers and other infrastructure from another company.  They have no control over the infrastructure used or even the maintenance and support procedures.  They can only control the levels of service customers receive on the systems they themselves control.

Online50 own and operate all of our infrastructure including connections to the Internet, data storage and replications, all of the servers and a lot of the system software required to make all of the systems operate correctly.  Because we control and own everything required for service delivery we are able to govern every aspect that affects the service received by our customers.  The softare we have designed and developed to make the service work, while invisible to users, is essential for smooth operation of the service and it is this Intellectual Property which makes it impossible for competitors to copy exactly what we offer.

Registered Internet Services Provider

Online50 are members of RIPE - the European Internet authority (called a regional registry).  As such we are recognised as an official Internet Services Provider (ISP) - (although we may not be as famous as Plusnet or BT Broadband!)  This means that we are in control of the Internet routing that connects users to our services, and also allows us to offer innovative solutions to our customers.

The user experience for all online software is heavily dependent on the quality of the Internet connection.  Online50 are able to provide an Internet connection which prioritises our own traffic into and out of a customer's location and ensures the best possible experience of our service.  We are members of LINX (the London INternet eXchange) and therefore connected directly into the UK backbone of the Internet.  This means users can connet to our services more directly, passing thorugh a smaller number of intermediate steps.  As each step is a potential chance for a service disruption, minimising these steps provides the best possible experience.  We have found that users often see operational speeds faster than can be achieved using Sage 50 over a local network.

Certified Secure

Many people just assume that moving data into the 'Cloud' will be safe.  In August we were approached by a business who had used a cheap competitor and had just lost 2 years of financial records.  The cost of recapturing everything was going to be substantial.  They saved a few pounds but ended up spending thousands.

At Online50 we take our responsibilities for the data entrusted to us very seriously.  We are accredited to the international standard for Information Security — ISO 27001 — which requires ongoing independent audits to ensure that every aspect of our operations is being run to the highest possible standards.  Information security covers the availability, integrity and confidentiality of your data.

Entrusting your data to a company which is not independently audited to the ISO 27001 standard could represent a risk to the survival of your business, not just your data.

Hint

If a company offers just software and hosts it on another company's servers, it is possible to only include their own operations (ie: the software) in their ISO 27001 audit.  Because Online50 own and operate everything required to provide our services our scope of operations is broader than any of our competitors and all of it is included in our audit.

Online50 owns the servers, the code and is an official ISP.  Every year our entire operation is audited (including our internal administration, office premises and data centre security and even our HR policies and procedures). 

For a credible hosting partner with a track record, call the Online50 sales desk on 0800 195 0835.

Why Use Sage 50

We have been hosting Sage 50 for so long and have so many users that people often think we are Sage.  That is not correct - we are Sage's accredited Appication Service Partner.

We are completely independent of Sage.  We specialise in making software available over the Internet.

Out of interest we also host IRIS, Ambition Accounts and have quoted to host Quickbooks, MYOB and Turbocash alongside over 40 other software products.

Five Reasons Sage 50 Makes Good Sense

So with a number of other options for online accounting available, why do we see so many users choosing to run Sage 50 Accounts?  Here are a few reasons why it is so popular:

• Sage 50 Accounts remains the most popular small business accounting software in the UK for desktop deployments.  Many companies already have accounting data in a Sage 50 Accounts database.
   
• Sage 50 Accounts is high quality general purpose SME accounting software which works out of the box.
   
• Most junior finance staff received Sage 50 Accounts training on their course - therefore far less initial training is required.
   
• Experienced accountants are very experienced users of Sage 50 Accounts - they can quickly obtain quality management information (spending less time and potentially reducing your bill).
   
• Even if companies use Sage 50 Accounts locally, it is simple to send a backup to their accountant - which they can instantly use. (If you are using hosted Sage 50 software they will be able to access it in real time at the same time as you).
   
• With so many users across the UK, there are lots of developers working hard to identify opportunities to provide add on packages that work with Sage 50 Accounts.  This provides a wealth of utility and line of business applications.

Online50 Hosts Sage 50 Add Ons

Online50 does not only host Sage 50 Accounts, we also host a range of add on packages for that can enhance the system.  If you are interested in have Sage 50 Accounts hosted together with one or more add-on packages please call the Online50 Sales Desk on 0800 195 0835.