Comments on: Six simple things you can do to assess saas apps performance http://www.accmanpro.com/2009/09/22/six-simple-things-you-can-do-to-assess-saas-apps-performance/ Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:01:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Ben Kepes http://www.accmanpro.com/2009/09/22/six-simple-things-you-can-do-to-assess-saas-apps-performance/comment-page-1/#comment-6961 Ben Kepes Tue, 22 Sep 2009 10:02:43 +0000 http://www.accmanpro.com/?p=5557#comment-6961 Hi Phil, and thanks for your comment. My comments re breaking the differentiators was specifically looking at the differentiators that Sliderocket in particular articulate - namely the ability to run analytics on viewed presentations and track actions by viewers. Your point is taken however and I can appreciate where you're coming from... Hi Phil, and thanks for your comment. My comments re breaking the differentiators was specifically looking at the differentiators that Sliderocket in particular articulate – namely the ability to run analytics on viewed presentations and track actions by viewers.

Your point is taken however and I can appreciate where you're coming from…

]]> By: Phil Wainewright http://www.accmanpro.com/2009/09/22/six-simple-things-you-can-do-to-assess-saas-apps-performance/comment-page-1/#comment-6960 Phil Wainewright Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:29:05 +0000 http://www.accmanpro.com/?p=5557#comment-6960 I don't buy Ben's assertion that supporting a dependent offline client (by dependent I mean you still need to be connected to do updates/get the latest info/have the freshest version etc) "breaks the very differentiators that online presentation software vendors use to justify their existence." I prefer to create my presentations in SlideRocket - the design is great but the clincher for me is the online libraries of purchasable images etc. However I wouldn't even think about it if there weren't a downloadable client I could use to deliver the presentation. I have enough of a problem weaning conference organisers off their addiction to powerpoint (yes, even at SaaS events!) without trying tp persuade them to rely on a live link. However this is miles apart from installing the whole package on my own machine and having to deal with all the frustrations of using client-server era desktop software. I don't buy Ben's assertion that supporting a dependent offline client (by dependent I mean you still need to be connected to do updates/get the latest info/have the freshest version etc) "breaks the very differentiators that online presentation software vendors use to justify their existence."

I prefer to create my presentations in SlideRocket – the design is great but the clincher for me is the online libraries of purchasable images etc. However I wouldn't even think about it if there weren't a downloadable client I could use to deliver the presentation. I have enough of a problem weaning conference organisers off their addiction to powerpoint (yes, even at SaaS events!) without trying tp persuade them to rely on a live link.

However this is miles apart from installing the whole package on my own machine and having to deal with all the frustrations of using client-server era desktop software.

]]> By: Dennis Howlett http://www.accmanpro.com/2009/09/22/six-simple-things-you-can-do-to-assess-saas-apps-performance/comment-page-1/#comment-6959 Dennis Howlett Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:51:26 +0000 http://www.accmanpro.com/?p=5557#comment-6959 Yeah - good contrast. In our case it allowed me to keep inputting data (as in words) but couldn't post across the Internet. That at least allowed me to 'see' my end point fairly easily and find a local means of holding onto what I was doing at the point of failure. A bit like your back up for the presso I guess and why I've recorded an intro to supplement an over Skype intro I'm supposed to deliver to a conf in SF. The main thing was that I could save and shut down before the UPSs ran out of juice powering the 12 devices I have plugged into them and run the risk of losing where I was completely. I guess in the case of a network failure it would be helpful to get an immediate warning of some kind. Curiously, I can't find an easy reference on Google to that kind of thing. Maybe it's not possible. Today, the UPSs started beeping loudly so I knew instantly we were down but when the network jams up the only warning I get is usually a 'we can't find your page' message. Perhaps another fail safety point to bear in mind? Of course we resorted to old fashioned methods of checking whether it was just us by yelling over to neighbors and then driving up town to find no-one had power. Ho hum. In the meantime, score one for the on-prem guys - they only need power for clients/servers/routers and if they've got backup power then all's fine and dandy - in theory. Same with data centers. I've seen some massive diesel generators in my time to work as failover. (lol) Yeah – good contrast.

In our case it allowed me to keep inputting data (as in words) but couldn't post across the Internet. That at least allowed me to 'see' my end point fairly easily and find a local means of holding onto what I was doing at the point of failure. A bit like your back up for the presso I guess and why I've recorded an intro to supplement an over Skype intro I'm supposed to deliver to a conf in SF.

The main thing was that I could save and shut down before the UPSs ran out of juice powering the 12 devices I have plugged into them and run the risk of losing where I was completely.

I guess in the case of a network failure it would be helpful to get an immediate warning of some kind. Curiously, I can't find an easy reference on Google to that kind of thing. Maybe it's not possible.

Today, the UPSs started beeping loudly so I knew instantly we were down but when the network jams up the only warning I get is usually a 'we can't find your page' message. Perhaps another fail safety point to bear in mind?

Of course we resorted to old fashioned methods of checking whether it was just us by yelling over to neighbors and then driving up town to find no-one had power. Ho hum.

In the meantime, score one for the on-prem guys – they only need power for clients/servers/routers and if they've got backup power then all's fine and dandy – in theory. Same with data centers. I've seen some massive diesel generators in my time to work as failover. (lol)

]]> By: Ben Kepes http://www.accmanpro.com/2009/09/22/six-simple-things-you-can-do-to-assess-saas-apps-performance/comment-page-1/#comment-6958 Ben Kepes Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:09:19 +0000 http://www.accmanpro.com/?p=5557#comment-6958 Dennis - ran out of replies but following on from your comment re UPS's - sure you do, but they don't help with network outages... Dennis – ran out of replies but following on from your comment re UPS's – sure you do, but they don't help with network outages…

]]> By: Dennis Howlett http://www.accmanpro.com/2009/09/22/six-simple-things-you-can-do-to-assess-saas-apps-performance/comment-page-1/#comment-6957 Dennis Howlett Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:07:08 +0000 http://www.accmanpro.com/?p=5557#comment-6957 Ahem - we have UPS's that keep us rockin' and rolin' or at worst allow for a graceful exit. Ahem – we have UPS's that keep us rockin' and rolin' or at worst allow for a graceful exit.

]]> By: Ben Kepes http://www.accmanpro.com/2009/09/22/six-simple-things-you-can-do-to-assess-saas-apps-performance/comment-page-1/#comment-6956 Ben Kepes Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:04:35 +0000 http://www.accmanpro.com/?p=5557#comment-6956 Yeah.. for sure. But in the event of an outage, no matter how many of your steps the vendor has taken, you're screwed. Which comes back to the entire "can you rely on a web app discussion". Which is just a modern version of "telephones? pah - unreliable bunkum. Pidgeons are way more dependable"... Yeah.. for sure. But in the event of an outage, no matter how many of your steps the vendor has taken, you're screwed. Which comes back to the entire "can you rely on a web app discussion".

Which is just a modern version of "telephones? pah – unreliable bunkum. Pidgeons are way more dependable"…

]]> By: Dennis Howlett http://www.accmanpro.com/2009/09/22/six-simple-things-you-can-do-to-assess-saas-apps-performance/comment-page-1/#comment-6955 Dennis Howlett Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:00:41 +0000 http://www.accmanpro.com/?p=5557#comment-6955 You're probably right Ben - unless you want to look at THAT invoice at THAT time and bang! the network falls over or - as we experienced today - a total town power outtage! You're probably right Ben – unless you want to look at THAT invoice at THAT time and bang! the network falls over or – as we experienced today – a total town power outtage!

]]> By: Ben Kepes http://www.accmanpro.com/2009/09/22/six-simple-things-you-can-do-to-assess-saas-apps-performance/comment-page-1/#comment-6954 Ben Kepes Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:41:54 +0000 http://www.accmanpro.com/?p=5557#comment-6954 Dennis - cheers for the ping. I guess the difference between a web app (SMB accounting as an example) and a presentation is that, generally speaking, it's not critical that one enters an invoice instantaneously - generally it's OK to come back to it when connectivity is better. In the case of presentations however - it's a little upsetting for conference attendees to be told to come back tomorrow when the WiFi is better But overall you points are valid.. cheers Dennis – cheers for the ping. I guess the difference between a web app (SMB accounting as an example) and a presentation is that, generally speaking, it's not critical that one enters an invoice instantaneously – generally it's OK to come back to it when connectivity is better.

In the case of presentations however – it's a little upsetting for conference attendees to be told to come back tomorrow when the WiFi is better

But overall you points are valid.. cheers

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