Guides / 8 min read
How to share one Windows program with a small team.
Small teams run into the same wall in the same way. There is one program the business depends on. It runs on Windows. Half the team uses Macs, someone works from home and nobody wants to become the person who looks after a server. The goal is simple: everyone who needs the program can use it, and the data stays in one place.
What small teams usually try first
The first answer is almost always the office PC. One computer, left on, that everyone connects to. It works, and it often keeps working until the day it does not: a power cut, a broken update, someone connecting at the same moment as someone else, a laptop that was the only copy of the data.
The second is installing the program on everyone's computer and sharing a data file. That runs into the problem that half the team cannot install it, and the data file can be corrupted by two people editing at once.
A better shape: one machine, many windows
The shape that holds up is to run the program and keep its data on one Windows machine that is looked after properly, and give each person a way to open a window onto it from their own device. The program is installed once, updated once and backed up once.
How people reach it varies. It might be a remote desktop, a hosted desktop or a streamed program in a browser tab. What matters is that there is a single copy of the program and the data, and that each person has their own sign-in.
Questions to settle with the team
Before choosing, spend ten minutes on these.
- How many people use it at the same time? A program that allows one user at a time is a very different problem from one that allows ten.
- Does the licence permit shared or hosted use? Many do not by default.
- Does each person need their own settings, or do you all share one profile?
- Where do the data and the backups live, and who can restore them?
Accounts, not shared passwords
The most common mistake is one shared login. It is convenient and it makes everything harder later: you cannot tell who did what, you cannot remove one person without changing the password for everyone and a leaver walks away with access.
Prefer a separate account for each person, even on a small team. The extra five minutes pays back the first time someone leaves, loses a laptop or makes a mistake you need to trace.
Do not skip backups
Whatever route you choose, ask a blunt question: if this machine died tonight, what would we lose? A service that looks after the machine for you should be able to answer. If you look after it yourself, set up a backup that you have actually tested restoring from.
The Ledger
Compare the yearly cost of the ways your team could share the program.
Written with small teams in mind.
Questions people ask.
Can several people use the same Windows program at once?
Technically yes, if each has their own session. Whether the program's licence and design allow it is a separate question to check.
Do we need an IT person?
Not for a streamed arrangement where the machine is looked after for you. For a machine you run yourself, someone has to own updates, security and backups.
Is a shared login ever okay?
It is risky even for small teams. Separate accounts let you see who did what and remove access cleanly.
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