Moving away from the cloud

Yesterday I tweeted that the cloud-based version of Datazenit will be postponed in favor of a standalone app. The cloud version is not a separate thing, it is just the same standalone app, a little bit customized and hosted on our servers, made available to everyone. A question may arise - then why cancel the cloud app? There are several reasons for that.

• Demand. People really want a self-hosted solution. There was never that much love for the cloud version.
• Two different business models. Cloud model brings that sweet recurring revenue, but standalone is one time purchase with optional upgrades once in a while. That’s not a very good idea to focus on two business models when launching a startup. While standalone app could be less profitable[1] and less predictable for us, the single fee is friendlier for our customers and if they are happy, we can create a better relationship with them.
• Security. A serious effort would be needed to secure the cloud-based app and the server infrastructure around it, which means more time spent not on the actual product. The app would be a highly desirable target for attacks, because it holds sensitive and valuable data. It is not the time to take that risk right now.
• Dead obvious message. For customers it is probably easier to understand what the product does, if there is no cloud vs. standalone confusion on the landing page. It makes communication clearer and the message more straightforward.

I hope that this will make Datazenit better and our customers happier.

[1] - It is hard to say which one is really more profitable right now, but recurring payments can be really tempting for a startup.