NYCPHP Meetup

[Tom Melendez]

Hi Rick,

On 7/4/07, Rick Retzko <rick at click-rick.net> wrote:
>
>  Hi All –
>
> I've developed a web-based audition registration application for musical
> organizations (All-State Chorus, Regional Band, etc).  The application has
> been well received, but some organizations are too small to benefit from the
> web orientation and have asked if the application could be provided in a
> single-user version without hosting.
>
Not the answer you want, but I would address this as a business model
issue.  Everything that isn't web based today will probably be tomorrow.  If
I'm "reading into" your statement correctly they seem to have an issue with
the hosting cost.  The answer then, is, to reduce or replace the hosting
cost.  Build it into the support costs perhaps.  If they don't want
recurring fees then build it into license cost (with an availability cap of
say, 3 years).  Keeping it web-based will benefit you both in many ways,
including:
- Deployment
- Support (if they have internet access and a web browser it should work, no
PC issues to worry about)
- One code base
- They can access the application anywhere and one day, not too far from
now, they'll want to.
- tons more which I'm sure you've heard before

I'm exploring how to rewrite the app in PHP5 using sqlite as the backend
> database, but haven't figured out how to package the code so that it can be
> loaded onto another PC without the need to install and configure an Apache
> server for each user.  My prospective clients will not be PC-literate beyond
> medium-weight spreadsheet usage.
>

See above, this is only more work (and a lot more work at that) for you with
no real benefit IMO.  You now have the issues of backups, upgrades, support,
maintenance, security fixes on individual, possibly not-internet-connected
machines for which you probably can't charge for.  The computer-illiteracy
of your clients is even more of a reason to keep it web-based as they don't
want to deal with this stuff, either.

HTH,

Tom
http://www.liphp.org
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