Audience: CEO, Owner, Manager
Read Time: 5 Minutes
This article describes the differences between FASTTRAK InVision Online and FASTTRAK Ultimate Desktop and why you may want to use one or the other or both in your organization.
In general, it doesn't matter which application you choose. Both applications interact with the FASTTRAK Cloud Platform and YOUR underlying operator database. Keep in mind, YOUR operator database is yours and yours alone, not shared by any other operator. The data is completely independent of all other operators on the FASTTRAK Platform.
FASTTRAK Express: You may have heard of the FASTTRAK Express Web application. This application is being replaced by the FASTTRAK InVision Web application. Users may still continue to use the Express application, but it has far fewer features than InVision or Ultimate and will NOT be updated moving forward.
The functionality they offer are the same except for a couple newer features described below. However, the way in which you interact with the platform is slightly different. In a nutshell, the FASTTRAK Ultimate Desktop provides a windows-centric experience similar to other windows applications you may already be using (Outlook, Excel, etc.). In contrast, the FASTTRAK InVision Online application is a web-centric application running within your browser.
| FAQ | InVision (Online) - Web Browser | Ultimate (Desktop) - Windows EXE |
| Where does it run? | Within your favorite web browser (Chrome, Edge or Safari) A low-latency internet connection is recommended. | Runs as a windows executable on a Windows PC. Can also be run on a MAC via Parallels. Windows 8+ with minimum OS/system requirements. A low-latency internet connection is recommended. |
| How is it installed? | No installation required | Very simple downloadable installer, only takes a few seconds |
| How is it updated? | Updated automatically, again nothing to install. | Updated automatically via the FT Update process, generally under a minute (5-6 times per year) |
| How do you login? | You log in using your username and password as provided by FASTTRAK or your local FASTTRAK Administrator. | You will be required to enter a cloud server name and database upon initial install. Once that is completed, you will only enter your username and password on subsequent logins. |
| What are the overall feature differences? | Features are mostly aligned with only a few exceptions. Additionally, even though a feature doesn't reside within the Ultimate Desktop applications, links are provided to automatically open InVision for features only found in InVision (** below). | |
InVision Online includes the following additional features:
| Ultimate Desktop includes the following additional features:
| |
| What is the General Look and Feel? | The InVision product has a more simplified approach to menus and options with many options under a right-click menu instead of directly in front of you on all screens. This leads to a much simplified look and feel but general requires one extra click to take action within the application. Otherwise, InVision is a web application with general controls and grids that resemble other websites and forms you have used in the past. You can use back buttons to move back from actions and autofill is available for form entry. | Ultimate provides most options directly on the main form allowing quick access to actions without browsing a menu. Most power users find this very useful once you get used to it. However, new users can get overwhelmed with the various options and menus always being present on the screen. Otherwise, Ultimate is a windows application and very much follows general usability of other windows applications. Forms and controls are similar to other windows form controls and have slightly better response and usability than those of a web application. |
| What are the overall performance differences? | Since InVision runs as a web application, you will be interacting with a cloud server located centrally within the United States (International servers coming soon). This does not generally cause any issues as long as you have a sufficient internet connection. | Ultimate connects to the database server directly so it is most beneficial to move your database closest to you whether it be the United States, Canada, Brazil, Australia or Europe. |
It is recommended to make an initial decision on which application you will primarily be using so that your operator database can be located within your region. Regardless, the location can be updated as necessary in the future if your usage habits change. | ||
| What is the long-term support expectation? | Will be supported long-term | Will be supported long-term |
Not sure which to choose? No worries .. choose both! It is common for some operators to leverage the Ultimate Desktop for some workflows and use InVision for others. The choice is up to you. You are not "locked in" to a choice. Contact [email protected] and we will be happy to guide you in your decision including discussing the tradeoffs above.
Thanks, and Happy Computing!