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The advantages of web based training management
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Last Updated : Tuesday, 20 January 2009 by Mike Zandvliet
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Rating : 1.0 out of 5 by 4 users
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Few training centric organisations can afford to have custom software developed specifically suited to their needs, and their needs are often wildly different from one company to the next.
In addition, while most small organisations have websites, the servers are rarely operated internally - most make use of a free or cheap domain hosting service on the web. Those cheap services generally only allow simple web pages - and charge heavily for hosting databases and applications. It is usually medium to large companies that have the resources for internal (intranet) or external (extranet) software solutions hosted on their own servers. Even so, many large companies are looking to host some of their applications at secure, custom purpose hosting providers - to reduce the technology costs internal to the company.
ITM solves both of these dilemmas for all those organisations that cannot afford their own specialised solution.
Being an internet based application means that users can get to ITM from absolutely anywhere they have internet access. This could be from your office, home, a Starbucks cafe, or even a plane flying over the Pacific. As the net becomes more ubiquitous, it will become easier and easier to get internet access everywhere you go.
ITM clients also have the distinct advantage of being removed from the day to day hassle of maintaining complex servers and software - allowing you to get on with your core activities. Because ITM is a shared application with many different organisations using it, the development, maintenance and support costs are shared across many users. For example a volunteer rescue team would never be able afford to replace or upgrade their server every 2 years, but 50 such teams together could find it much easier.
Thus ITM users can be assured of having the best and most reliable hardware keeping the system available for the maximum amount of time and with the least amount of fuss.
The old-fashioned software model - where each user bought a copy of a product and was left to fend for themselves, made it difficult for users to get support when there was a problem, and certainly changes would never be made in response to a users requests. And when improvements did come, they were very far apart, often required a painful upgrade process, and sometimes cost the users even more.
With the ASP (Application Service Provider) model of software deployment, of which ITM is an example, fixes and upgrades are immediately in place once ready (and without the need for users time or intervention). Most importantly, any of our clients can ask for improvements to the application and if that change makes sense for all our users we can implement it without waiting months or years for the 'next version'. This gives you almost the same flexibility as having a custom in-house solution. Our support technicians are available around the clock to make sure the software is working as advertised and to make corrections if necessary.
Essentially all of our users benefit because they are sharing the burdens of development, maintenance, hardware, support and technical expertise. By spreading these around many users, the total cost of ownership is much cheaper than the traditional model of custom development, and much more flexible and supported than 'shrink-wrapped' packages.
Related articles: How ITM saves you time and hassle
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