I often receive calls from clients needing software support or desktop support. As a web developer/designer I am very familiar with making software work and getting pcs and Macs configured, that is; my pc or my Mac. I have an intuition of what settings I need to change and where they might be so I can run through a lot of settings very quickly.

As part of our services here at Web Design Experts we set up email services. My customers; it should be noted, are intelligent and adaptive people who just happen to use computers in various ways to conduct their business. When I set up an email service, whether it is via Google Apps or a cPanel driven email system, there is usually 2 components; the mail server (our area of expertise) and the client (not really an area of expertise - just competence).

The thing about client software is that it could be anything, Outlook 2003/2007/XP/2008 or Outlook Express (3-4 versions), Groupwise, Thunderbird, mail.app (v2 or v3), Lotus Notes, and the list goes on (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-mail_clients).

So the difficulty lies in where do we draw the line?

We can configure most software packages because we are programmers at heart and know all of the standards that software writers use (as long as we are sitting in front of the machine with access to the documentation or the internet). As far as providing a high quality service it is not the best option. A desktop support expert would complete the task in minutes where we might fudge through for 1/2 hr or so and then miss some basic requirement and have to re-visit it.

It's not exactly an uplifting experience and it makes writing an invoice equally unpleasant because one of our business missions is to be the "Expert" for our customer so they can get on with what they are "Expert" at. In feeling as though we have not provided the best possible service ends up with the whole excercise being more expensive for both our client and us.

Depressed yet?

Well there is hope.

I am a staunch advocate of Google Apps, in particular the email system. It is just like Gmail but it can be customised somewhat to provide a bit of corporate branding and a nice login address of mail.yourdomain.com.au where yourdomain is your actual domain name (ours is webdesignexperts).

The web based client is very functional, you get calendar, addressbook, word-processing, presentations, spreadsheets as well as a few other services without loading or configuring anything on your computer. This also means that you can access all of these functions anywhere you have an internet connection and a web browser.

I believe that the days of all client software (software that you load onto your computer) is numbered. Even Microsoft know this.

"LOS ANGELES, Oct. 28, 2008 — As part of a strategic companywide shift toward embracing web-based solutions, Microsoft today announced plans to deliver Office Web applications – lightweight versions of Office – through web browsers."

Read the whole article here http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/Features/2008/oct08/10-28PDCOffice.mspx

What does this mean?

1. Far less configuration
2. No issues with other software already loaded
3. No need to purchase and apply updates
4. You can use your disk storage for data instead of programs
5. It doesn't matter what hardware you have
6. When you change computers you won't need to re-load anything

Will it be cheaper?

Well, Google Apps is currently free for up to 50 users with 7GB storage space (this will undoubtedly change). Organisations such as Microsoft stand to lose a significant revenue stream so there will probably be a charge based on either a subscription or data/bandwidth used.

So, we still haven't answered my initial question of "Where do we draw the line?".

For us it is a matter of doing what you do well. This may seem a bit rough however the real answer can be seen in the following cost analysis.

Your web designer e-mails you the config info and you spend 45minutes trying to set up an IMAP or POP connection it doesn't work. You call your web designer and together spend the next 30minutes going through settings to find that you left off a dot or missed a setting (not your fault - you're not a computer person). So far we have a total of 105minutes of resources spent. Then something else occurs, a folder isn't there anymore or a rule stops working, call the designer...

Now consider this scenario.

Your web designer sets up the email server and emails you and your desktop support person the config info. You file it away and your desktop support person initiates an online support session (if they can't "dial-in" look for new support). You go make a coffee and by the time you are back the job is done and tested. Total time spent: your time = 10minutes, web designer = 0minutes and desktop support = 10-20minutes.

Oh, and desktop support is usually cheaper than web designers' fees.

If you are still feeling as though the web designer should do the whole thing, consider a new house; the power company provides electricity to the meter box (try calling them to walk you through installing power points) and you need an electrician to install the power points.