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Web-based  or Windows-Based I&R Software   

I&R software falls into two camps:  Web-based and Windows-based.

The primary misconception regarding these two platforms is Windows software is not available over the Internet and Web-based system are only available from the Internet.  In fact, both systems are available over the Internet and both systems can be run in-house, off the Internet

In today's I&R software market the functionality differences between the Windows and Web-based systems is simply this:   In terms of pure functionality, the Window-based systems are significantly more feature rich than the Web-based systems.  

There are multiple reasons the Windows software is more feature rich:

• Developing software using Window-based development tools is, by some estimates, five times easier than developing a similar system for the web.  We have found this to be true at RTM Designs, even with Microsoft's latest web development platforms.

• Windows was designed specifically to be a business application platform, the Web was originally designed as a document feeder which makes it less than an ideal business software platform.

• Web systems, in some cases,  are graphics heavy therefore restricting vitally important screen real estate for system actual functionality.

• Windows systems can have multiple pages open at the same time and controlling screen maneuvering is easier to accomplish. A Web-based system can only have one page open at a time in a single Web Browser therefore restricting functionality.

• Maneuvering from screen to screen in a Windows system is almost instantaneous while maneuvering between web pages is slow.

Call Processing Ability:

Performing a side-by-side speed test comparison of three popular Windows I&R applications against two well known Web I&R applications, processing identical, simple call transactions, including call statistics, this was the result. Processing identical call transactions, it took between 2.5 and 4 minutes for the Windows applications and almost 6 minutes for one Web I&R system and 8 minutes for the other.

Processing an identical, complex call transaction with multiple clients with different needs, recording the needed call statistics and notes, only RTM Designs software could process the call in one transaction, taking 7 minutes.  All other systems, Window and Web-based required two call transactions, which immediately causes an inflated and inaccurate call count. The other Windows systems took 11 and 13 minutes to complete the calls and the web systems took 17 and 20 minutes.

In terms of productivity, Windows systems are more cost effective to run and maintain, even considering the staff time required to maintain an in-house Windows I&R system.  The Web I&R systems, while not needing IT staff to maintain (the Web system are generally hosted by the vendor)  will require additional people to staff a busy call center. Financially the Web systems will be considerably more costly to run on an annual basis, and less productive.

Summary:

The current crop of I&R Web applications were built using older development platforms (as are are several of the Windows applications).  In 2006, Web applications should be using AJAX-like technology which doesn't require the web page to refresh after each submission.  Here is a simple test when evaluating I&R web applications:

When submitting a request on a web page such, as clicking a submit or go button, or while searching for a client or searching the Taxonomy, if the web page refreshes (goes away and comes back) then the web site is using older technology.

While there is no doubt the Web may be the platform of choice in the future, today's Web-based I&R applications are simplistic, arduous, and time consuming to use and offer very few advanced I&R features.

RTM Designs Position: 

RTM Designs has always offered Window-based I&R systems for in-house use at a customer's call center, primarily because Windows-based I&R systems can be developed, modified and completely updated in a fraction of the time it takes to create a comparable Web-based I&R application.

The end result is three-fold:

• The I&R software is significantly more feature-rich

• Cost and time of development and updating is reduced  

• The software is less expensive for the customer

Windows I&R applications have been the #1 selling software since the early 1990s.

All RTM Designs software system are accessible over the Internet, we choose to use something other than a web browser to provide access to the software. This tool is the Remote Desktop Connection which is standard on all current Microsoft operating systems.

While there is a definite market for Web-based I&R applications, the decision at RTM Designs was to wait until technology improved before investing in the development of a fully functional Web-based I&R software package.  That time arrived in late 2005 with the advent of Microsoft's new Visual Studio.NET 2.0 (and upcoming 3.0 version) development platform.

This new platform virtually eliminates the need to refresh a web page.  Web application will function more like Windows applications, but have the advantage of being accessible from a Web Browser.   By late 2007, RTM Designs will have the most advanced Web-based I&R system on the market. 

The new Microsoft Visual Studio.NET 2.0 and 3.0 platforms also promises significant improvements on all RTM Designs' Windows I&R applications, also due late 2007- early 2008.