Browser-based computing

BANGALORE, INDIA: Web browser is said to be the most user friendly and easy-to-use application. The advent of Web 2.0 gave way to the era of browser-based computing. For the past 2 years we have seen many online office suites involved and many other Web apps, which take the regular office work online, providing users the advantage of working from anywhere and anytime.

Though most of the online office suites are still in their beta and are not as feature rich as MS Office 2007 or other commercialoffice suites, they have started to make an impact on the market. Some of them like Google Docs and Microsoft Live offer customized solutions for enterprises as a service. Thinkfree lets you host the office suite on your server, which your users can access from anywhere in the world. It's not just the office suites that are making impact, Web conferencing, online collaboration, and project management have also gained momentum in the past years.

Web OS

• Evolution of online office suites gives users advantage of accessing their documents from anywhere.
• Desktops became browser-based with the introduction of Web Operating Systems
• Services like Web-based meetings, shared online workspace gained momentum.
• Adobe launches online photo editing
  
  service.

You'll have your own OS hosted online, which you can access using your TV as the monitor. WebOSes also provide multimedia capabilities and hence allow you to play music, view and share audio/video files; but for this you will need to upload your files to the Web OS first, which can be time consuming. The downsides of Web OSes like the need of a reliable Internet connection to work, and limitations like ability to install hardware peripherals on them still remain. Another concern for Web OS users has been security, especially for those who have critical data, which they would like to access from anywhere. To solve the problem almost all Web OSes have started providing end-to-end encryption through SSL.

Nowadays Webtops are also available as a service, some Web OS vendors only charge for extra storage space, such as DOD provides 1 GB of free storage space and charges 2 pence per GB per week. Similarly YouOS is also available as a service, and you can also host it on your own server with a fee of $2,000 per year per server with a max of 50 users per server. Another company gOS is selling PCs installed with customized Linux that runs only Google apps i.e. Google docs and spreadsheets, Gtalk, calendar, etc. Off course you have to be online all the time to use all these apps.

Web-based applications for DR and BCP

As organizations are becoming increasingly concerned about immediate restoration of data, in case of a disaster, the trend of using Web apps for DR and BCP is fast catching up. From planning to execution, the whole BCP process requires contribution from various departments. One such app is BCrevo, which allows you to create BCP plans through templates and manage schedules and documentation through a centralized console. In case of a disaster, BCrevo command center acts as a central gateway, where all emergency response plans and recovery processes are executed. The app also provides online training to the new users, through the browser itself. In future we are more likely to see these kinds of apps which can be in-house as well as outsourced.

Accessing Web apps offline

To counter the problem that you have to be online to access Web apps, vendors are coming up with offline access to Web apps. In offline mode all required files of the app that you are using are stored locally in offline cache or app cache. As of now it's not clear whether you will get all or some functionalities of a Web app. Let's say if a Web OS starts providing offline support, some of its functionalities like instant messaging can't be used in offline mode. However for things like word processors, emails, etc, it can be easily used. In these cases, while working, data is stored in local cache and synchronized with the Web app residing on the server, required tasks like sending emails which were created in offline mode are performed.

All these processes are transparent to the user, they neither have to manually download anything, nor worry about uploading data created offline. Firefox has stated that their next version Firefox 3.0 will provide support for accessing Web apps online. Google recently introduced Google Gears which is an extension for browsers, using which developers can create offline support for Web apps. Right now its beta version is out which is developer-only release. But as soon as Google Gears' first version is out we might see Google Web apps like Google docs supporting offline mode. Popular collaboration software Zimbra, which was recently acquired by Yahoo, has also released the Alpha version of Zimbra Desktop, which lets you use Zimbra in offline mode.

Though first Web OS came out way back in 1999, it was in this year that Web OSes made their impact. Using Web OS, you needn't carry a laptop to access your data. Also you can create community groups, which allow you to share files with other community members. The concept of WebOS could also be used in DTH consoles that come with built-in Web browsers and Internet access facilities. In such a case, you need not buy a PC for home.