What Is Cloud?

The Insight Software is the only solution that offers you a choice between installing the software on your computer OR accessing Insight from the internet (known as "cloud.")

So what is this "cloud" that everyone keeps talking about? Basically "cloud" is a term used to describe computing that uses the internet as a central resource in order to allow you to access your information from any web enabled device* at any time and in any place. Insight gives you the ability to choose what is best for your specific business.

Scroll down to learn more about the Insight Cloud and how it compares to the Insight you install on your own computer. Whatever you choose, we can give you access to your business from anywhere, anytime, on virtually any web enabled device.

Installed Vs Cloud

It doesn’t matter which platform of Insight you choose, both will work the same and have the exact same features available to them. Both platforms allow you to access the information from web enabled devices over the internet but there are some key differences that are outlined below:

Installed Insight

This is the traditional version that we have been providing our clients for the last 20 years. The Insight software is downloaded and installed on your PC and all of your data stays on your PC. You still have the option to allow other computers to access the information at the same time (Enterprise Edition).

Insight Cloud

The “Cloud” version of Insight is installed in multiple data centres throughout the world on our completely secure, private servers. You have access to your information through virtually any web enabled device including Mac computers and iPads as well as other tablet devices. If you do not have any Windows based PC that you can install Insight onto, the Insight Cloud version is the only way you can access Insight.

Works On Any Device

Both the Cloud and Installed versions of Insight allow you to access the information from virtually any internet enabled device*. The main differences between the two versions are price and how the solution is implemented.

Installed Insight
In order to allow any “non Windows PC” devices to connect to Insight, special software needs to be purchased and installed on the PC that Insight is running from. If you want multiple users to be able to connect and access Insight at the same time, there may be additional network licenses that will need to be purchased as well. While this typically costs more than the Cloud version to set up, it may be a better solution if you have very slow or unreliable internet connection.

Insight Cloud

The Cloud version of Insight already has all of the networking licenses as well as the software to support "non Windows" devices set up and running on our servers. As a result, there is no need to purchase additional software. You still own all of your information and you simply pay a low monthly subscription fee to access Insight. You can use Insight from as many devices as you want, however, if you require access from multiple computers at the same time, there is a slight increase in your monthly subscription fees for each additional concurrent user.

Which Software Is Best For You?

Choosing which version of Insight might seem like a complicated process but it really isn’t. The best news of all is that no matter which one you choose, you always have the option of switching to the other version at any time. Our support staff can switch you from the Cloud to Installed version (or the other way) in about an hour. With all our competitors you need to choose one or the other…with Insight you always have a choice and all of your information goes with you. No other company can offer you that flexibility.

Is the Cloud right for you? Why not try it out and see. If it isn’t, you don’t have to go looking for another software to run your business, you just switch from Cloud back to Installed and pick up right where you left off. No more searching, no more additional expenses, no learning another software program. You have nothing to lose.

Advantages Over Other Wed-Based Software

Choice

The single biggest advantage that Insight has over the traditional web based software programs is that we are the only company that can offer you a choice without switching software. If you decide to go with one of our competitor’s online web based programs and you don’t like it or it is too slow for you (a very common complaint), all the information you entered is lost and you have to start everything over from scratch. When you choose the Insight Cloud, if the experience isn’t what you hoped for, you can be switched over to the Installed version in a matter of minutes. Nobody else can offer you that.

Speed

Any software that is web based (written in Java or HTML like regular web pages) suffers from “lag” or slow response times. When you click on a link to go to a new web page sometimes it takes a few seconds (sometimes a lot longer) to load the page in your browser. When a client is standing in front of you wanting to book their next appointment or pay for their service, do you really want to click on a button and wait for the web page to load?

The technology that Insight Cloud uses is not the same as HTML web based programs. You will be running the exact same Insight software as the Installed version and you will be running it from incredibly fast and powerful computers capable of running large Fortune 500 companies. The only information being sent over your internet connection is what is shown on the screen so when you click on something you get virtually instant responses. In our tests, Insight Cloud actually responds faster than the Installed Insight because our servers are 10-20 times faster than an average PC.

Reliability
Web based software is designed to have thousands of users all running off one server computer. Even the largest web based software providers only need a few servers to manage all their users. The problem this presents is when one server goes down, you could be without access to your data or, at the very least, suffer from huge delays in your access times.

Insight Cloud is different because we only have a very small number of users accessing each server computer and dozens of servers available. If one server goes down, the users logged in to that machine would just need to log back in, at which point they would be directed to one of the other servers. We use what is called “load balancing” to ensure that each server has the same workload placed on it to ensure a fast and enjoyable experience for our users. As we add more users, we add more servers so you will never see a dramatic drop in response times.

Recently, one of our "web-based" competitors had their site attacked and their clients could not access their data for 11 days. If you think reliability isn't that important, think about trying to run your business for over a week with no access to your appointment book or client list. Insight Cloud is designed to be redundant in order to give you peace of mind knowing that any interruption will be kept to a minimum.

* Remote Desktop Connection Requried