Exploring the benefits of web-based over traditional desktop apps
Accelerated by the COVID 19 pandemic, the past few years has seen an explosion of web-based applications along with a general recognition that people want to, and can, work from home or from just about anywhere if given the right tools.
All over the world, businesses are starting to shut down their huge offices in favour of a more pared down approach, which takes businesses of all kinds, increasingly online.
What businesses now want is software that is PORTABLE, INTUITIVE, CONVENIENT, USER-FRIENDLY.
At 3CAD we have recognised this, and we have been upgrading our software since 2017 – 3CAD Next – to be fully web-based. In this special blog we will discuss the history and context of our solutions and how our next generation of software brings a lot of advantages to the table.
Web-based apps for the 21th century
With traditional desktop-based apps, the application is tied to its operating systems, and written specifically for each platform. This is fine in certain scenarios, where users are happy to work from a fixed location, with the extra power many desktops offer.
Web browsers, however, follow the same rules and standards across all platforms, and they are always being updated. And being part of that open framework, there’s no need for you to download updates, or patches, as it can be done automatically. So, you can be free to do more important things.
Compatibility & portability – Running it everywhere
In our long history we’ve maintained our products based on Microsoft Windows, the most popular operating system in the world. Applications written in Microsoft Windows remain compatible, but only to a certain extent, within the Windows ecosystem.
3CAD Next entirely rewrites our desktop app to a fully web-based application, meaning that it is now compatible on all available platforms.
Every operating system has a web browser. Every browser can run web-based applications. So simple, and it just makes sense.
In addition, the software is also optimised for mobile and so it can be used on any device.
Nothing to download. Nothing to install. Nothing to update.
Let’s face it, updates can be a hassle. A big software update might render a whole network useless, or at least slow and sluggish, while the installs are happening.
There exists the potential for errors and then there’s the fact that you have to deploy updates to each specific client.
The web-based application solves this issue in one fell swoop.
The applications no longer need to be updated for each specific client but are updated at one place – the central server. Each time the user accesses the app – it’s already up to date. This also involves other valuable information – like catalogue listings and/or price lists.
Additionally, you no longer need to worry if your client is running the latest version of his browser as all major ones update silently, in the background.
Performance
Traditionally, desktop applications had an advantage when it came to speed, compared to web-based applications. But there are a number of reasons why this is no longer true.
With the latest standards like HTML5 & WEBGL and with standards always improving, web-based apps have leapt forward in terms of capability over the years. This means that web the capability to take advantage of all of your hardware bringing it on par with the desktop ones.
In addition, the processing of data can now be done via a remote central server, rather than on a local one. This, combined with increasing internet speeds greatly improves the user experience overall, no matter your device.
Historically, desktop apps had better support for 3D graphics but the latest standard in which we based 3CAD Next – WEBGL – is a game changer. 3CAD Next takes full advantage of WEBGL which renders interactive 2D and 3D graphics within the user’s web browser without the use of plug-ins, while providing desktop-like performance as it is GPU-accelerated.
It’s cheaper
One great advantage of having your apps compatible with any operating system is the cost reduction. Your clients can run open source and free operating systems which can dramatically reduce the costs.
Alternatively, the part of the software that runs on the server can run on various operating systems which can eliminate high licencing costs. In addition, having a web-based solution means the user doesn’t have the same hardware requirements as web-based solutions are compatible with any device.
Providing support and updates to your clients becomes more effective too as you are having one unified solution running everywhere. Developing new features, testing and deploying updates to one central location is both more time- and cost-effective.
The future
Although operating systems to not update so often – web browsers do. They are always installing the latest standards and tech improvements that guarantee that your investment stays on the frontier of what is possible.
The web is constantly evolving and we are seeing an increasing number of apps and tasks being moved within your browser to the point that the browser has become its own sort of operating system like we’ve seen with Google’s ChromeOS.
Investing and implementing a web-based solution like 3CAD Next is your ticket to the future. With it, you can ensure that you are always up to date with all that the latest technology has to offer.
