Hi Nick,
We don't have any real experience of this (though we did try remote entry
via web browsers a long time ago, it never really worked effectively for us
but this was an organisational issue at the time rather than a technology
issue). Our Collection Management software suppliers, Minisis Inc, do
provide this type of service.
See their web page detailing it at
http://www.minisisinc.com/index.php?page=mwi
My thoughts on your potential benefits-
- Centralising (and therefore simplifying) the upgrade path for software &
enabling developers to rollout extensions to functionality globally across
their client base
Our software provider already provides support very much along these lines
as standard with our in-house hosted system, providing regular updates
available to all clients.
- Reducing the requirement for local data storage and management
Our system is soon to be upgraded and will be hosted on our council
servers, I suspect the council would agree with your points regarding
potential loss of control/ LAN stability. For us, I would need to know
really what's the difference between local storage and and any other form
of hosting, as long as it's backed up and stable it doesn't matter to me,
but the Council have significant IT systems/support. For a smaller
organisation or one without IT back-up this issue would be very different
and a remotely hosted CMS might be ideal.
I can't see how it would in reduce data management issues? As the data is
our responsiblity to manage, wherever it is, I can't see how any change of
system would reduce managment requirements (but I am a documentation
manager so maybe I would say that).
- Potentially facilitating the processes of Digital Preservation for museum
data
Yes, potentially.
- Potential cost-savings on technical support and development
Again I'm not sure how there would be potential cost saving, you still need
techncial support and development in line with changing needs as we do now,
these would still need to be paid for. Without clear evidence (as you
higlight) it is difficult to see where savings could be found. There could
even be added costs in providing the level of secure storage desired.
I have no problem with the concept of a CMS as a remotely hosted,
browser-accessible application - as long as it could meet all the various
standards we currently have to meet - it is currently difficult to see what
it would really offer us. (Which I guess is why your doing the research).
It might be worth asking Minisis Inc if/how many of their clients make use
of their service the page states they host 39 client databases so you
should be able to find some case studies..
Regards,
Rachel
(Rachel S Cockett)
Documentation Manager - Collection Management
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery
B3 3DH
0121 303 1679
www.bmag.org.uk
www.bmagic.org.uk
www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk
Nick Poole
<nick@COLLECTIONS
TRUST.ORG.UK> To
Sent by: Museums [log in to unmask]
Computer Group cc
<[log in to unmask]
UK> Subject
Collections Management Systems as
hosted applications
21/05/2008 23:18
Please respond to
Museums Computer
Group
<[log in to unmask]
UK>
Dear MCGer's,
I was wondering whether I could enlist your help in a research paper which
the Collections Trust is considering at the moment. We are looking into the
potential for museums to move towards the use of Collections Management
Systems as remotely hosted, browser-accessible applications.
With the rise of utility computing and improvements in bandwidth, it seems
as though many industries are revisiting the Application Service Provider
model (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_Service_Provider) as a
cost-effective way of managing both applications and data. On the face of
it, there are some appealing benefits to the ASP (not Active Server Pages)
model for Collections Management Systems. These include:
* Centralising (and therefore simplifying) the upgrade path for
software
* Enabling developers to rollout extensions to functionality
globally across their client base
* Reducing the requirement for local data storage and management
* Potentially facilitating the processes of Digital Preservation
for museum data
* Potential cost-savings on technical support and development
On the other hand, there is the risk that museums could perceive a move
towards an ASP-based CMS as a loss of control or potentially integration
with other museum systems, or that connectivity isn't robust enough provide
a service as reliable as a Local Area Network/client-side application.
The cost-savings and efficiency gains of this development could potentially
be significant, but at the moment we have no clear evidence about how this
model might be/is being applied. I would therefore welcome any and all
thoughts or comments on this issue, and particularly:
- Is anyone on the list using a Collections Management System
under an Application Service Provider model?
- Are any software developers on the list already providing or
planning to provide such a service?
- What do people think would be the reaction to this if it were to
become a clear direction of travel for information systems?
Hope you don't mind acting as a reference group, but if there's sufficient
interest, we'll follow up with some concerted research and publish a paper
on it later in the year.
With thanks,
Nick
Nick Poole
Chief Executive
Collections Trust
www.collectionstrust.org.uk
www.collectionslink.org.uk
www.cuturalpropertyadvice.gov.uk
Tel: 01223 316028
Fax: 01223 364658
Until the end of April 2008, the Collections Trust's legal trading name is:
MDA (Europe) Ltd
Company Registration No: 1300565
Reg. Office: 22 Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 1JP.
The Collections Trust believes that everybody, everywhere should have the
right to access and benefit from cultural collections. Our aim is to
develop programmes and standards which help connect people and culture.
The Collections Trust was launched from its predecessor body, the MDA, in
March 2008.
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