Why cloud apps allow more innovation
Posted by Philippe Creytens at 14:04 on September 2, 2010
It is fair to say that probably the biggest advantage of using cloud applications in a browser is the fact that changes and new features become immediately available without software updates. With a minimal effort a cloud service provider can roll out new features and/or improvements of existing features to to thousands or millions of users.
In many cases this takes some getting used to by end users. Earlier this week I experienced this during a roll out of Google Apps by a Dutch company with several international offices. Merely a week after the training sessions intended to train the trainers, they can already see that the layout of a calendar entry not only looks differently than during the sessions, but it has been made a lot more intuitive.
A second new feature, the Priority Inbox, that will become available to everyone, will most definitely be much appreciated by their “power” email users. Priority Inbox prioritizes your mail based on your previous read and answering behavior.
During the sessions I learned that some of them receive 200-300 mails daily. I can assume that every new technological enhancement that allows them to deal more efficiently with their mail avalanche will really be savored by them.
Now compare this to traditional, but often used, office applications that typically see improvements every three years…
