6 min read

Desktop vs Web – which platform of DD Portal is right for you?

October 8, 2018

Many clients ask us about the differences between these two platforms, and whether they should choose one over the other. The truth is, there actually aren't many differences between the two versions. At DeskDirector, we believe in feature parity across platforms. The reason we cater to different platforms is that all customers want to engage at their convenience.

Discover the key differences for yourself and choose the right version for your business:

The Differences Between Platform vs. Portal

 

DIFFERENCE #1 – INSTALLATION

The web feature is included by default in your Basecamp Pricing and is available at yourmspname.deskdirector.com. The installed version is available as an add-on for Essentials and included in our Dynamics Plan.  

If you have purchased DD portal for Windows or Mac add-on or Dynamics, then this gives you access to the downloadable version which you can find here.

Admin Console --> DD Portal Installer --> Downloads

Web Version

No installation required

Desktop Version

For Windows:

MSI  

  • Downloads.exe to machine
  • Will install silently on next startup

EXE

  • Installs directly to the machine
  • Recommended for Testing  

Terminal Server EXE

  • Regular .exe install
  • Does not self-update
For Mac:

DMG  

  • A simple UI to drag and drop

Difference #2 – Device Information

Web Version

  • Users can see their name and email

Desktop Version

  • Users can see their IP address and machine name inside the portal
  • Tickets they create attach IP address and machine name

DIFFERENCE #3 – BRANDING

Web Version

  • The login screen will have always the company’s global branding.

There is no way of knowing which company they are coming from, so they end up seeing the global branding.  

Desktop Version

  • Customize the branding for each company from day 1
  • You can create customized installers
  • End-users never see your branding

You can further customize the portal with the theme colors of the end-user’s brand logo for the web and desktop version.  

Pro Tip: This can be your value-add offering.

Difference #5 - Notifications

Web Version

  • Browser Notifications
  • Only notifies when the person has the tab open

Desktop Version

  • Desktop Notifications
  • Notifies even when the portal is running in the background.  

The Windows and Mac version work in the same manner. Here is a summary between the difference between Desktop vs Web.  

Here is a summary between the difference between Desktop vs Web.  

 Feature

 Desktop

 Web

 Active Directory Integration

 yes

 no

 Computer Details to internal notes

 yes

 no

 Always up-to-date

 yes

yes

 Deeplinking

 yes

yes

Chat

 yes

yes

 Notifications

 yes

yes

 Approvals

 yes

yes

 Learning Centre

 yes

yes

 Invoices

 yes

yes

 Opportunities

 yes

yes

 FastTrack

 yes

yes

 Flag

 yes

yes

Now that you are aware of all the differences you can choose the platform you can make an informed decision on the platform you prefer. The experience from an end-user is so similar that there’s a huge a possibility that they might not notice it at all. You can always seek support or go through our knowledge base for help.

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Poorvi Jhawar

Written by Poorvi Jhawar

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