Facility maintenance software provides a multitude of benefits. Maintenance software helps you plan and control your facility’s maintenance work, boosting productivity and minimizing equipment downtime. There are two different types of facility maintenance software to choose from: premise-based and web-based facility maintenance software.
A premise-based solution is hosted on your company’s servers, so you are responsible for supporting and maintaining it. On the other hand, web-based facility maintenance software is housed on servers your company doesn’t own and is distributed through the Internet.
A growing number of maintenance management software vendors are offering web-based solutions, but is web-based facility maintenance software right choice for your organization? One size doesn’t fit all. Below are the pros and cons of web-based maintenance software.
Pros of Web-Based Facility Maintenance Software:
- You can access your facilities maintenance software from anywhere in the world – all you need is an Internet connection!
- There’s no need to worry about maintaining or repairing the servers required to run the software
- You don’t need any special hardware or software
- Minimal technical expertise is required to use the system
- Lower upfront costs
- The maintenance management software vendor provides technical support
- The vendor performs all software updates and back-ups
- You pay as you go, so you only pay for what you actually use
- You can access the system from smartphones and other mobile devices
- You don’t have to wait for your IT department to fix things
- Save on computer systems maintenance costs
Cons of Web-Based Facility Maintenance Software:
- Your data resides on the software provider’s servers
- You may not have ownership or control of your data
- You have to make sure that the provider takes precautions to keep your communications secure
- You have to make sure that you’re able to get all of your data back from the service provider if they go out of business or you move to a different provider
- If the service provider is having technical difficulties, you may not be able to access the software
- Some web-based facility maintenance software has hidden costs
- Response time is slower than a local network
- Monthly or annual subscription fees can add up significantly over time
- A web-based solution may offer less functionality and flexibility
- You need to call the vendor to access backed up data
Weigh the pros and cons to determine whether it is the right option for your organization. Generally speaking, premise-based maintenance software is a better choice for large companies, which are often reluctant to store company data on external servers. Furthermore, large companies already have an IT department that could implement and handle the upkeep of premise-based software.
Online facility maintenance software is suited to small and mid-sized organizations that lack the required support infrastructure. It also makes more sense for organizations to opt for web-based maintenance software if they plan to use a variety of computers in multiple locations to access the system.
To determine whether web-based maintenance software would be appropriate for your company, contact DPSI to sign up for a free trial of iMaint.
