Cloud Apps vs. Legacy Apps: The Answer is Becoming Obvious

Chuck Cobern, CEO Technology Pointe

Why are we promoting cloud-based apps over traditional apps? I have had multiple discussions about this with CIOs and clients in the past year, and the answer is becoming obvious as cloud apps become more mature and abundant.  

I can point to a great example from the other day. While working with a vendor on the integration of several cloud-based apps — including one CRM tool called Nibble and a contact sync tool called Piesync — the potential and still-evolving limits of cloud apps were on full display.  Together, the two apps were syncing contacts to my Office 365 account and once configured the three cloud-based apps were communicating with each other just fine. Then I asked our vendor if we can sync the contacts from Nibble to our Email Server sitting in our data center? And the answer was not yet but sometime in the near future that will be possible. Moving forward, software firms are going to remain primarily focused on cloud-based solutions that will help bring the digital transformation shift into full swing.

Ultimately, if you find yourself faced with the decision of whether to buy a cloud-based solution or a legacy tool,  you may want to review where your business sits  in its own Digital Transformation and make sure you are ready for it.

This brings me back to the central question:  why are software firms focusing on cloud-based apps over legacy applications?  

Here are six reasons:

1. I’m sure you have a smartphone full of apps. People are using their phones as one of their key devices to get things done.
2. There is a big push from Microsoft, Google and Amazon to develop mobile first applications, which are primarily cloud-based. And that means desktop applications are taking a back seat.
3. More and more people are using Microsoft Live or Office 365 accounts.  Microsoft is allowing customers to use these accounts as an identity solution and to access other cloud applications. What this means is that now you can use one account to access all of your other cloud-based apps such as Salesforce, Dropbox for Business, DocuSign and a long list of others. This is better known as Single Sign On or SSO.
4. Another great advantage of cloud-based apps is the ease of integration with other software solutions.  For example, Piesync is an option inside Nimble making it easier for everyone to use and support.
5. More legacy software solutions have started providing cloud-based versions to accompany the traditional version. In addition, customers are directed towards the cloud app and an abundance of features not available in the legacy version.
6. The last advantage is accessibility. You can access cloud-based apps from just about anywhere with your WIFI or cellular data. On the other hand, legacy applications are a totally different story because they are designed to be accessed in the office or workplace.

Chuck Cobern is the owner and CEO of Technology Pointe, an IT support and consulting company in Central Texas focusing on small and medium-sized businesses.