Web-based vs Installed software – Pros and Cons

When it comes to finding the right church management solution, one of your first decisions will be whether you need a web-based or installed solution. Web-based has a few obvious advantages in that it’s accessible everywhere and there’s no software to install. In fact, for those very reasons we decided to build ServePoint – our online volunteer scheduling service, as a web-based service.

But when it comes to more critical, sensitive, administrative data like your church membership database, we feel like there are too many disadvantages of web-based, and that an installed solution is the smarter choice.

Compare the advantages and disadvantages of web-based vs. installed:

Web-Based Solution	Installed Solution
Advantages Accessible everywhere No installation required Vendor responsible for backups	Advantages Never lose access to your data No internet required Faster data entry, reporting, etc… Can be customized to meet your specific needs You own and control your own data Less expensive over time
Disadvantages Can lose access to your critical data (internet outage, vendor downtime, etc..) Slower data entry Someone else holds and controls your data More expensive over time	Disadvantages Not easily accessible everywhere, but can be done with remote desktop Must be installed on each computer You must make your own backups

Web-Based Solution

Installed Solution

Advantages

Accessible everywhere
No installation required
Vendor responsible for backups

Advantages

Never lose access to your data
No internet required
Faster data entry, reporting, etc…
Can be customized to meet your specific needs
You own and control your own data
Less expensive over time

Disadvantages

Can lose access to your critical data (internet outage, vendor downtime, etc..)
Slower data entry
Someone else holds and controls your data
More expensive over time

Disadvantages

Not easily accessible everywhere, but can be done with remote desktop
Must be installed on each computer
You must make your own backups

The web-based disadvantages of losing access to your critical data, and slower data entry are big concerns when talking about a system that holds all of your most important church information.

Yes, the biggest disadvantage to an installed solution is probably that it’s not accessible everywhere. However, you can overcome this and make it accessible to other devices and platforms (even Macs) by simply using “Remote Desktop” to remote into your church server or PC – It’s very fast!

So the benefits of always having access to your critical data, the faster data entry, and ability to customize, are the main reasons why Excellerate’s church management software is an installed solution. Not to mention, you only pay for the software one time, less expensive in the long run, and it’s yours forever!

If you have any questions about these, just give us a call or email.