We debated over how to implement Clever Tools for quite some time. Should it be software users download and install on their own servers? Should it be a hosted service? Should we offer both? We decided that for at least the initial release to make it a service only. The reason for this decision came down to convenience and support. Convenience for the user, to have an account up and running in just minutes. We also figured not all our customers would have web hosting. The other factor was convenience for us as developers. When we use our own servers to host the service, we can use any module or technology we want. If we offered it as an installable option, we would have to use technology that was more mainstream and available on most servers. This would make development more difficult and require more time. We want to get this released to you guys as soon as possible. The second biggest issue was support. When we can control the environment our software will run on, then we will have less issues and problems. In order to offer the prices we are going to offer (below competition), we need to keep support issues as low as possible. Also, when it was time for new features and upgrades, it makes it much easier to handle.

However, while this is going to be a hosted service, we are offering a unique solution to those who want to use Clever Tools on their own domain. Similar to Google Apps, we will be implementing a sophisticated cname aliasing system to allow you to access and portray Clever Tools on your own domain. All you will have to do is add a simple DNS entry- we will take care of the rest! We hope this is a good compromise and offer the benefits of both a hosted service and the desire to host it yourself.

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