Desktop App

If you’re looking to add another application to your business toolkit, you need to know the difference between desktop applications and web-based ones.

Desktop apps are the right choice for organizations that value privacy and efficiency. Find more information on desktop applications in the guide below.

What are Desktop Application?

Desktop App (applications)  are software programs run locally on computer devices. They aren’t accessible from a browser, like web-based apps, and require deployment on a personal computer or laptop.

Desktop vs. SaaS web-based application

As a user, should it matter to you whether an application has to offer a desktop version or not? As a developer, should you build a desktop or web-based app?

To answer both questions, we’ll take a look at the peculiarities of desktop and SaaS web-based applications.

Desktop applications have a lot of benefits:

• Users don’t need an internet connection to access them
• They’re considered safer options since all the user data is stored on their machines
• Processes are typically executed faster on desktop apps

So is a desktop app better than a web app? Not necessarily.

Web-based applications have the features desktop apps lack:

• They don’t require high processing power from the user’s device
• They’re self-updating
• They’re accessible from any device with an internet connection, no installation needed

Web-based apps are indeed simpler and don’t require much effort from businesses using them. They’re usually geared towards the needs of small businesses and growing startups. On the contrary, desktop apps are usually built for mid-sized companies and enterprises.

Apps like Slack and Miro have both desktop and web-based versions. This is perhaps the best solution for app developers and users that want to take the best of both worlds.

Challenges with Desktop Applications

Desktop apps aren’t flawless. When you purchase a desktop app for your internal team, there are a few challenges you should anticipate:

1. Need constant updates

Contrary to web SaaS, desktop software isn’t self-updating. You need to give consent and update apps manually to access the latest versions. This can be a time-consuming task that often disrupts business processes and workflows.

2. Integration with other technologies

To integrate several web apps, you don’t need any technical skills. Most often, you can go for a built-in integration or use Zapier to build simple workflows. Integrating a desktop app with third-party technologies is barely possible if the app doesn’t offer this functionality on its end.

3. Accessing the application

Accessing desktop applications isn’t possible unless they’re installed on your device. So if you want to implement some desktop-based software solution into your system, you’ll need to help everyone involved with the installation and setup process. Moreover, if you happen to be away from your business laptop, you won’t be able to access the app by any means.

4. Managed servers

Most desktop applications require a managed server where the data is stored. Maintaining a server not only increases your expenses but also adds to your system admins’ workload.

5. Employee onboarding

Onboarding and training employees on a desktop application takes time and effort. While being robust and feature-rich, desktop applications are often difficult to navigate. When implementing a new application, you need to develop a detailed onboarding program to enable your teams to get up to speed fast.

6. Resource intensive

You need to provide your employees with modern and powerful machines to effectively use desktop apps. Sophisticated solutions typically require great processing power to run without disruptions.

3 Reasons Why Enterprises Use Desktop App

All things considered, why do enterprises often opt for desktop applications?

1. Independent of network connectivity

First off, it’s independence. All your internal procedures and customer-facing business processes can be seriously affected by an interrupted internet connection when you use web-based apps.

With desktop software, you aren’t exposed to situations that you can’t control.

2. Privacy, security, and other compliance-related issues

Desktop software is more reliable than web SaaS apps. You have total control over your desktop applications since they aren’t exposed on the web.

It’s safer to keep confidential business information and customer data on your own server. Content stored in the cloud can easily be hacked and leaked to the web, but files saved on your PC cannot. If you want to reduce the risk of security threats, you should definitely consider using desktop applications.

3. Performance

Lastly, desktop application are just faster. Quality desktop software combined with a powerful device is capable of performing more complex tasks in a shorter time than web-based apps. Financial operations, rendering, and trading — these are just a few examples of the processes only desktop applications can handle effectively. Speaking of which, let’s move on to the most common use cases of desktop software.