Mobile App Development
Cloud App vs Web App: Choosing the Right Solution for Your Business
The average time spent on a
mobile device is growing day-by-day. It is estimated that on average, an adult
in the USA, spends approx. 3 hours 43 minutes on their mobile devices each day.
More and more businesses are taking the help of mobile apps to reach their
users as this has been one of the fastest routes to accelerate the growth of
their business. An interactive and engaging mobile app helps bridge the gap
between the brand and its customers. Overall apps have resulted in a
significant increase in sales, audience engagement, and much more. Hence, the
day there is no denial in saying that mobile apps, these days, have become an
integral part of the marketing strategy of any business. And this is the main
reason for the growing demand for enterprise mobility
services among the business entrepreneurs as they see it as the opportunity
to go as close to their users.
If you are ready to launch an app
for your company, the challenge comes from where to start it with. Two names
that buzz around are cloud-based apps and web-based apps. Choosing one for your
business is really tough as both web apps and cloud apps are important and have
their own set of benefits. But which one to go for, entirely depends on your
business requirements and your business goals.
In this article, we are going
to discuss, in detail, about both the cloud-based apps and web apps and chalk
out the major differences between the two.
What is a Cloud-based Application?
Cloud-based applications are the
ones that can access online service using the internet, however, they are not
completely dependable on web browsers. The word cloud word in cloud-app refers
to having the architecture of saving the data, software over the internet
rather than storing it on the computer’s hard drive.
One can clearly say that these
mobile apps are an advanced version of web-apps, as they offer more benefits to
its users with a productive and swift service along with an easy update to
cloud apps. Its servers are located in a remote data-center and are mostly
operated by a third-party. Microsoft Hotmail, Google, Yahoo, Evernote, Dropbox,
and NetSuite are examples that rely on cloud-based technology. There are many cloud computing
service providers in the market that can help you in creating a customized
solution for your business needs.
Benefits of Cloud Apps
- Customers need not install the
software from the server, they can use the app’s functionalities without it
too.
- These apps can be used in both
forms, either as custom-built apps installed on your desktop/ mobile devices or
in the form of a web browser.
- Customization helps in meeting
different user requirements.
- Storage, backup, protection are
additional benefits that can be availed as per the need of the customer.
- It provides massive storage
capacity for the documents, photos videos, etc.
- Reduce cost benefits to the
company as the means of hardware and software maintenance is not
required.
Now that you know about what cloud-based apps are, let us discuss the next types of apps, i.e. web apps in detail to
have a better understanding of both the types.
What is a Web Application?
As the name suggests, web
applications run on web browsers. These applications need to be downloaded and
housed on the device and can only be operated when there is an active internet.
It is a combination of server-side script and a client-side script. Its
computing model provides the benefit of using the app from anywhere via the web
browser. Online banking, online shopping, Web-X, and eBay are examples of
web-based applications. To get them developed, you can hire an experienced dedicated
development team of app developers who can create a customized solution for
your business.
Benefits of Web Apps
- Accessible from any location
- Gets updated itself without the
need to reinstall apps on devices.
- Runs on multiple platforms
regardless of the device, are cross-platform compatible.
- Web apps can be released at any
time and don’t require approval from the market.
- Each user has access to the part of the application
Now that you know about both the type of apps, let us move on to knowing the differences between them.
Defining the Differences Between Cloud Apps Vs. Web Apps
Origin
The foremost difference between
the cloud app and web apps is their origin. The web app was coined earlier to
the cloud app. The developers of the web app started first to use the front-end
framework while at that time the cloud apps used to differentiate the new
generation features of its upcoming app.
Technology
The origin of the web app was
earlier; hence it is associated with early web technologies and powerful
languages like Python, PHP, Ruby, and .NET. Hence can be operated only when an
active internet connection is available. There are many website development
companies that are working on these technologies and have expertise in
developing high-profit generating web apps for your business.
While cloud applications require
back-end frameworks and with HTML5 offline caching features, the cloud app can
be operated even without the need to have an internet connection.
Also Read: Mobile
App Testing vs Web App Testing: Differences That Matters
Use cases
Since cloud apps can work without
the internet, they are quite beneficial for high computations or places where
there is low internet connectivity.
While a web- app works in the
browser, hence always requires active internet connectivity. eCommerce sites,
cab applications, information sharing portals, are the examples which run with
good internet connectivity only.
Cost
Cloud apps are a bit expensive as
for creating a robust web application that works for both online and offline
incurs extra cost. Also, the team of mobile app developers required to build
these types of apps is generally large. Thus, web applications are
cost-effective as compared to cloud apps.
Services
Web apps are quite popular and
are recently used in high demand as these apps are located somewhere else but
can be accessed from anyplace.
Cloud-based apps sync in the background where the internet is stored and hence works even in offline mode. Also, if we talk about the customization features, cloud apps ensure customization while the latter does not provide the same level of functionality or customization level.
What Is Your Ultimate Choice?
As we have seen the comparison
between the cloud app and web app, it must have been a bit easy for you to
choose the type of mobile app
development services your organization requires.
In a cloud app, the data is
processed through a privately-owned cloud or third-party servers and is speedy,
scalable, and reliable. While web apps are limited to an industry’s specific
requirement and are easy to access as these need not be installed and can be
accessed from any client browser – web or mobile. In this digitization age,
where apps can generate high income, choosing the right technology for building
your business app is vital. Choosing the wrong one may lead you to a big loss
in the aspect of cost. Hence, choose wisely in between cloud apps vs web apps
as in the end, it is all about the ideology and the requirement of your
business.