People have been doing their banking on-line for years. Same with payroll and taxes. There are no known breaches. The back-office order-entry, inventory, etc., is simply a logical extension of what has been going on in other sectors.

Should you switch? The answer depends on many factors. If you have many tens of thousands of customers, you are probably better off with a traditional desktop, multi-user, network system like QuickBooks or Great Plains. However, smaller businesses, especially those on a budget, will find back-office “webware” to be very attractive.

Also, if you have remote offices or if you have vendors (like fulfillment houses) that might need access to your data, web services are way to go. You can buy a “read-only” account and give that to outside vendors (or employees) and they can use it (anywhere in world) to view data, but not change anything. Large firms have Virtual Private Networks to do all of this. The small business sector will now have save advantage. The web is network!

One of best things about webware is that you can truly “try before you buy” without having to download and install anything. The “demo” that you use on vendor's web site is same system that you will use “for real” when you subscribe.

A lot of business people don't use latest software products (or they don't update software they have) because they fear they will have trouble installing it or learning how to use new system.

One of advantages of webware is that everyone knows how to use a browser. Well-designed webware is intuitive by nature... just like web. There is hardly any learning curve. Contrast that to learning how to use one of more popular back-office desktop systems.

There is no underestimating what a well-oiled office infrastructure can do for your business. Being able to take orders, create invoices, account for money, keep track of customers, do your taxes, and create reports to show you how you are doing are invaluable assets to anyone running a small business.

With webware, it finally gets easier.