New online business needs help

[FSIvan]

Hi all.

I have developed a web application for businesses which uses a Mysql database to store details of their clients for distributing jobs to their mobile workforce to work with on Android tablets. The idea is to replace what their staff do at the moment using pen, paper and snail mail. I developed both the web app and the companion Android app to help me do my own work easier and I'm now at the point where they are good enough to start selling to businesses. So far from contacting around 60 odd companies I've been to visit a small number and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Clients love the idea that they can view and manage their service engineers workload in a simple and easy to use interface and they also really like the Android app which was built to make the engineers job on site easier making inputting of information quick and painless. The two parts of the service communicate with each other over the internet using JSON.

Here's the problem. I've started out with the intention that this will be sold on a subscription basis (SAAS Software As A Service) with all files being stored on my own server so I can keep the application updated and also ensure that the server is as secure as i can make it. The objection to this I'm getting is that most (not all) of the companies I've spoken to so far are saying that they are not comfortable handing over a database of their clients to somebody they just met. People are generally saying that they like the idea and want to work with me to develop it further so that they can use it in other areas of their businesses but they would prefer to have the database in house and under their own control.

At the moment I'm struggling to come up with ideas as to how I would go about giving clients what they want while still retaining the ability for the two applications to communicate over the internet. I also would like to carry on with the service being subscription based as I like the idea of a steady residual income more than being paid a one off lump sum. So far these have been my thoughts.

1. Host the database on the server which the client hosts their website on. We could work together to get it up and running with a small amount of sample data and they could then take over control and the responsibility for running it. This is ok until they want further developments at which point they have to allow me access.

2. Use some kind of browser based database which only lives in the local machine. I know this is possible but see two problems: how to allow the Android app to access the database and how to ensure that the multiple databases are backed up and kept up to date in a multi user environment?

3. Use some kind of database like Microsoft SQL server and expose this to the internet in some way. I would probably need to write a pc based application to facilitate access to this though which would set the project back many months and maybe mean I lose the first to market advantage i have at the moment.

4. Other options I've not though about.

5. Persevere with the current model and make do with the smaller number of clients I will get who are a bit more forward thinking and are happy to use a web based service.

If anybody is able to offer some ideas i would be most appreciative, I would also be open to the idea of a partnership with somebody who is capable of implementing a good idea. So far from the small number of responses I've had this business has the potential to go a long way. At the moment I'm just targeting one fairly niche industry but can see no reason why this can't be used in any industry where a mobile workforce is employed.

Any ideas?

 

[garyk]

Well some years back I had a telco and we used to 'rent' the billing software. Now this wasn't a web app but a traditional windows application. What they used to do was send a licence key out each month that was valid for 30 days.

Now that sounds onerous but isn't that really. The provider I guess must have had an automated system which generated and emailed these license keys.

From a customer perspective when the app was fired up it would check the license key, if it was valid it would let you in. If it wasn't it would scan your outlook inbox for an email from them with the licence key and then automatically apply it.

Now I appreciate that not everyone uses outlook but its merely a suggestion. It is one of the hardest stumbling blocks for SaaS providers. Ive worked with many SaaS accounting software vendors and typically the barrier to take-up is usually this same issue. That said it has improved over time. I would sell it on the basis that their data is held off site in another location so in the event their local data fails they have a backup copy.

Good Luck!


Gary

 

[DotNetWebs]

...Use some kind of database like Microsoft SQL server and expose this to the internet in some way. I would probably need to write a pc based application to facilitate access to this though which would set the project back many months and maybe mean I lose the first to market advantage i have at the moment....

I obviously don't know the full details but if it were me I would consider use CouchDB for this:

http://couchdb.apache.org/

Couch is a NOSQL database that allows very rapid development and and has an in built JSON api.

I run Couch in Amazon EC2 and it's VERY easy to replicate databases. You would need some sort of client application to load the data but as Couch runs on Javascript this can be done in the browser.

Regards

Dotty

 

[Dan_Kesher]

The objection to this I'm getting is that most (not all) of the companies I've spoken to so far are saying that they are not comfortable handing over a database of their clients to somebody they just met.

There are many services that handle data on behalf of companies. For example Salesforce host all the data online. Most of the time, the hosted data is kept in such a way that its safer than the company having the data in-house. It could be kept on RAID5 arrays to prevent loss of data. Many small companies have a server with a single drive, or at most a RAID1 array.

The question is, can you convince them that you can protect their data better than they can? For example, in that last research I saw, a surprisingly high percentage of companies werent backing up properly.

You could give them to ability to export their data to make them happy.

3. Use some kind of database like Microsoft SQL server and expose this to the internet in some way.

Never expose a Database server to the internet and never give you clients direct access to the database. Even if they are doing it through your application. Youre asking for trouble. Eg. Mysql had a bug that allowed easy access by a hacker. The issue is generally avoided if you don't give access directly to the mysql database.
One solution is to put mysql behind a firewall and run a .net web service on your server. Only the web service will have access to the mysql database and your application will connect to the web service and not the mysql database. I hope that made sense.

 

[cardiffcreative]

Why not make it so that computers and devices are registered on your service via a website with unique identifiers An encryption key can be set on the desktop and the devices to secure the data. The clients desktop application can read a local database, encrypt the data that gets sent to your server which then sends the data on to the correct registered device. Same would apply going from the device back to the computer.

 

[muralimohan123]

I would provide both options - Web based and local . Though Local deployment is a different animal, it is easily solvable. I guess you would need web services to write to and read from the local database and all devices will use those services (with proper authentication - auth thokens, secret key, IP addresses - all can be used).

Also, may be you can highlight the difference between both options and also savings made when it is done as SaaS ( I am assuming SaaS will cost less.)

I have made many assumptions in this post. I would love to discuss more, any technical challenge is interesting.

 

[Peter Bowen]

Perhaps a slightly lateral approach.

Offer 2 price levels:
- an very expensive enterprise version which includes data storage on a dedicated device at the client's datacenter.
- a regularly priced version which has the data stored on your own machines.

That way your client can decide for themselves how important it is for them to store their own data.

 

[FSIvan]

Thanks to everybody who has made suggestions in this thread. I asked this question in more than one place and received some useful comments from a variety of different people. Along the way I came to the conclusion that I had overlooked one kind of obvious thing when considering the options which is that regardless of the location of the database any clients are still going to need to trust me. The reason for this is that it's my own Android apps which will be connecting to the database and uploading/downloading data, at which point I would be able to harvest any data I wanted. So I will continue on the path I am on for the time being and work on my powers of persuasion.

If anybody reading this is involved in a company who is already in the Saas market place and is interested in working with me on this please feel free to drop me a pm or email me at ivan.woollATgmailDOTcom

 

[Quest Cloud Solutions Ltd]

I would agree, go with option 5 and persevere. If you host the SQL server in a secure UK-based datacentre and write your terms of business to state that the client retains ownership of their data (if that's possible with your business model), then you should be able to use the additional security, resilience, and redundant argument for where the data is stored. It's worked for us!

Cheers

Ryan

 

[Original Hosting]

Hi There,

I would keep your plan how it is at the moment, because when the smaller number of clients that you get show that they are satisfied the ones who you didn't get will probably rethink. Also trust is not immediate, it has to be earned. As you get more clients you will become more reputable.

Best Wishes