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.