Web App vs Cloud App – Find Out The Differences and Benefits Here?

Technology is something that keeps on evolving with time. There was a time when businesses were operating with the help of paper files and later on, the software such as word processing and spreadsheets came into existence to aid business operations.

Likewise, today’s era is an era of applications. They have become a very strong and beneficial tool to one and all be it an online customer, a businessperson, or a multinational organization. From increased sales to enhanced user engagement, applications are serving businesses in a number of ways. 

When we talk about the applications, there are two general terms that we come across – web apps and cloud-based apps. The evolution of these apps has drastically altered the way business operations are made. Though, many people use these two terms interchangeably as the line of difference between web apps vs cloud apps is very fine, the terms are not at all interchangeable. No doubt, there are a lot of similarities between the two but variations do exist that make them different when we talk about user experience and rich cloud-based services. 

This article is aimed at introducing you with the exact differences of web apps vs cloud apps, their benefits, and the meaning of the two. We are going to start with a brief introduction of Cloud-based Apps, meanwhile, if you are looking to develop your next app and in need of the best application developers in the industry, you can hire our team straight away.

Cloud-based Apps – A Brief Introduction

Cloud-based apps are an advanced form of web-based apps. These are the apps that function with the help of the cloud and possess some characteristics of both desktop apps as well as web apps. Like web apps, they are also utilized to access online services over the internet but are not always rely on web browsers to function. These applications work with the cooperation of cloud data that can be run in offline mode. Cloud apps are generally portrayed by superior features like:

• The apps can be utilized to access a broad range of services on demand computing cycle, app development platforms, storage, etc.
• The apps can be utilized via a web browser or custom-built apps installed on the devices like desktops and mobiles connected with the internet.
• Data is saved on clouds or cloud-like infrastructures.

The most common examples of cloud apps include Dropbox, Netsuite, Zoho.com, Evernote, etc. and its different types are

• Software as a Service or SaaS
• Platform as a Service or PaaS
• Recovery as a Service or RaaS
• Infrastructure as a Service of IaaS

Web Apps – A Brief Introduction

Web applications, on the other hand, are created to work on a web browser. They are the combination of server-side script such as ASP, PHP, etc. and client-side script such as HTML, Javascript, Adobe Flash, etc. You can use a web-based app from anywhere, anytime provided there is the availability of an internet connection.

The most common examples of web apps include electronic banking, online shopping apps, eBay, etc. and its different types are

• Static web apps
• Dynamic web apps
• Portal web apps
• Web apps with CMS
• E-commerce or online store
• Animated web apps

The Advantages of Web Apps

1. Web apps are accessible from anywhere with the help of any web browser.
2. There is no need to download a web app in order to make use of it.
3. The applications are capable of running across multiple platforms despite of varying operating systems or devices. 
4. The apps need less support and maintenance from the developers and demand less from the end user’s machine. This reduces the development cost and eases the usability.

The Advantages of Cloud Apps

1. Cloud apps require the least management effort and service provider interaction.
2. The customers can utilize app functionalities even if they do not install the software on the servers.
3. Cloud apps proffer wide computing abilities both offline as well as online.
4. Provides a huge range of services.
5. Suitable for varied user requirements.

The Differences Between Web Apps vs Cloud Apps

1. Cloud-based apps have various appearances within the datacentres whereas web apps are placed at a particular location.
2. Web apps are exclusively designed to work from a web browser whereas cloud-based apps are not exclusively dependent on web browsers to function.
3. In the case of web apps, every customer utilizes their own instance of the app whereas, in the case of cloud-based apps, the presented app is standardized for all customers. 
4. Web apps have limited scalability whereas cloud-apps are inherently scalable.
5. The development of cloud-apps is more expensive than that of web apps.
6. All cloud apps are web apps whereas all web apps are not cloud apps.
7. Web apps have a restricted up-time whereas cloud apps have a very high up-time.

Final Words

Although a number of web apps still have a good hold in the market, the future IT and businesses are definitely going to be in the cloud if we have a look at the serious benefits they offer to the companies. Almost 90% of the companies are already on the cloud at the present date and the numbers are constantly rising. However, the choice between the two purely depends on the functionality and scalability of the application you are looking to develop. 

All cloud apps can definitely be web apps because of the fact that they can be used via web browsers however all web apps cannot be cloud apps. Hence, if you qualify your app to be a cloud app just because it runs on the web, you are not correct.

Hope the above article has made you clear with the main differences between the two as well as their individual benefits so that you can make a clear choice while making your next application. However, if you need further assistance or want to hire professional application developers to develop your upcoming app, do meet us to get the best services!