There's no such thing as "free"...
Small businesses often face a financial dilemma - we need tools to do the job, but the budget doesn’t leave room for much acquisition. More often than not, however, it’s the not budget that causes the problem. Commonly its the decision maker.
In my field I can quickly determine just about where a small online business will be in, say, three years. In my experience, if one is always on the hunt for the cheapest method (in this I mean the actual dollar amount charged to the credit card or written on the check), a once thin veil gets thicker over time. Businesses that fail to realize that time is worth money, and that future delays or costs as a result of today’s frugalness could wind up costing you more should heed to warnings. Whether it boils down to a lack of automation, an inability to change platforms, or a breach of security, the costs of repair or change could wind up costing you more than you ever imagined.
I’ve alluded to all this previously in regard to performing regular maintenance on your online store, and committing to backing up records. But there’s a whole other ball of wax that requires intense consideration.
All those free online apps…
Okay, even I would be shocked if Google disappeared overnight and took with it all the data we might store in Google Calendar or other free web-applications. Chances are even if Google was bought such features would continue to serve us - for free - because it’s a vital part of their business plan. But what about the rest of them?
I read, with great intrigue, the latest issue of PC World. Among them were free CRM services, a mailing list manager, and even a shopping cart. Their Business Center lists some “great freebies for your company”. While these may be great service offerings, unfortunately, many small business owners hop online because of the magic word - FREE - without considering some key factors.
Is it really free? There are thousands of online apps & service sites that offer free accounts for low volume needs, but a good majority charge for higher-usage folks (note that small businesses commonly fall into this factor).
Do you know the company? I lose no sleep at night using Quickbooks Online for our client billing system. Intuit is a solid company and I do have a sense of security. I’d never consider putting my financial information, or customer/client information, in a database maintained by someone I do not know.
Are they really secure? Aside from the above, you always have to consider what equipment and services are being used to protect your data. You might think that storing a client contact list with a third-party wouldn’t lead to privacy violations, but even large, big-named corporations have fallen victim to hackers. Remember CDNow and DSW… NOTE: If you can’t log into any type of account securely, don’t even consider signing up.
Can I export and manipulate the data? Any free service that stores your data in a proprietary format, or an unexportable one, requires much consideration. Growing businesses need the ability to migrate to different programs as well as new service applications. If the data stored by a third-party cannot be exported (and modified, if needed) so you can utilize the same data on another platform, it’s going to cost you money for re-input. I’ve faced this many times with online store owners wanting to change shopping carts - and to say it’s a total nightmare is an understatement.
What happens if… Primarily, what happens if the company offering the app closes tomorrow? The lesser known the company, the higher the chance that your data will disappear as they close their doors…another reason backing up and exporting is so important. I’ve found that any online app also has a similar script program (either by the same company or competitor) that can be installed on your own server space or computer. While these applications tend to cost much more up front, they can save in the long run. For example, when we sought a task management system we found several online service sites with features we needed. Prices ranged from $45 to $99 per month. We found a script we could run on our own server and with the initial cost and customizations we spent just under $3,000. It was a big outlay up front, but we’ll save money over time. And since all the data is stored on our own secure server (and we can back it up) the worries of a third-party gaining access to sensitive information about our clients are eliminated.
Of course, there are some things that should never be stored online - i.e. master passwords to key systems. Yes, there are online apps that will let you maintain password lists. They tout key encryption and double verification of identity. That, however, really isn’t enough for me. To me, some things should be stored only in my head, and some things only on locally encrypted, password-protected files.
