Devoted to hardware, software, IT issues, and information technology management

With global competition growing tremendously, its vital that small-to-midsize businesses (SMB) learn to leverage IT resources to meet the demands of its customers in a cost-efficient and timely manner. With the increasing options available on the IT market, SMBs can now put their resources online or transform it into a web-based one. Information can be accessed anytime and anywhere. Hence, Computerworld has a great write-up on the reasons to choose between online or onsite software solutions. Read on:

Decisions on any technology closely tied to the financial health of a business should always be made carefully. This includes whether to select an on-demand or the on-premise model.Following is a rundown on some of the merits and challenges of these two software delivery models, with a focus on the needs of small-to-midsize businesses (SMB).

* Lower Cost of Entry: Many SMBs are attracted by the "pay-as-you-go" aspect of on-demand software, seeing on-demand as a way to avoid the large upfront investment required

* No Readiness Issues: Generally speaking, the smaller the business, the less likely it possesses the time, money or expertise to purchase, manage and maintain an IT infrastructure. An on-demand

*Shorter Time to Productivity: The competitive advantage for many SMBs is their ability to be agile in responding

*Support for Mobile Users: Whether employees are in the office, at home or in a hotel room in another time zone, access to an on-demand application is identical.