email from the competition

[Jorgebon]

I just received an e-mail from one of the other practice management systems. These are the guys that have the cloud based thing. They specifically promote their product by saying that Open Dental is too complicated. Shameful mudslinging. Here in Puerto Rico we have a saying that says that people only throw stones at the tree that gives fruit. Must be that Open Dental has given fruit.
Jorge Bonilla, DMD

[jsalmon]

I hear lots of people wanting us to start hosting their data for them. As soon as I tell them that they can have their "cloud" but that it isn't going to be Open Dental hosting it for liability issues and so on and so forth they get really quite for a bit. Then they just fall back on the "Well you guys would be so much more successful if you just did it yourselves..." gravy train. What can you do...

If anyone HAS to have their cloud, I'd say check out the private cloud section on this page: http://opendental.com/manual/multiplelocations.html
That's essentially what we would be doing.

[jordansparks]

We'll host it. Someday. We want to do it right.

[Jorgebon]

Cloud based practice management systems may be a good option in some parts of the world. Where I practice, internet connections aren't as reliable as I would like. In the past month we've had two or three days where we had no service due to problems in the service provider's infrastructure. If we had a web based software we would have had to close the office those two or three days.
Jorge Bonilla, DMD

[drsg]

Keep in mind that you would have some HUGE headaches in the Canadian market, due to Federal and Provincial privacy legislation (unfortunately). Ultimately, the dentist must protect the security and access of all data on his or her patients. Cloud storage becomes really murky, really quickly. There is a CE course happening this very week in my home town on whether it is "legal" to even send patient digital radiographs or other data through normal email servers. But hey...maybe cloud based data becomes ubiquitous enough that it becomes the overwhelming standard.

[drtech]

I think it is too risky to host all your data on a cloud...internet can go down unexpectedly, then what do you do? In our day, that pretty much puts us out of business! Not to mention the security issues....