Using Optuma on a Cloud-Based Windows PC
For clients having issues installing Optuma - such as Apple Mac users or those behind corporate firewalls who are prevented from installing software - one possible solution is to install Optuma on a virtual Windows PC which is then accessible via any web browser or iPad. It is also a great solution for clients who travel or work in multiple locations and need to access their Optuma charts from different computers.
One such service we have been testing is called Paperspace, which allows you to ‘rent’ a Windows PC on to which you can install Optuma and access it from any computer via the web, or via their app.
Please Note
we’re not 100% fully recommending this solution, but it looks good and is very flexible. You can choose to pay by the hour (from US$0.07 per hour) or monthly (from US$22), which could be cheaper than buying a new PC.
See this article for more details: Using Optuma on a Cloud-based PC
If you are interested, set up an account with Paperspace and then install Optuma on your virtual PC by saving and running the setup file from your account page.
Here is some feedback from clients who recently installed Optuma on Paperspace:
Client 1
Paperspace is WONDERFUL. I like that I don’t have to use any system resources on any machine, so I already see the same speed I had one my fastest machine – but on all of them. It looks just as good as it does on the VM, but so far, my favorite part has been the ability to pull up Optuma in my conference room now – where I didn’t have a VM. So now I can actually navigate around with my clients and show them some of the stuff I’m doing.
On the downside, it doesn’t respond well to the Magic Mouse’s sideways scrolling like the VM did, which is disappointing, but not the end of the world.
Client 2
I got it set up and working quite easily, going forward it’s as simple as logging in via their website through a browser.
Their operating systems are far better than my old machine - so there’s no problems using Optuma - I went for the advanced option at 18c/hour to make sure it the extra processing power.
The internet at their end is super fast (500MBPS+ up and down).
On the negative side, occasionally there is a ‘refresh’ or timeout. You just have to wait 20secs for it to connect again. I used it for around 5 hours yesterday and it probably happened once or twice. Not a huge deal.
Slight lag, but that’s normal for these hosted services. I had the same thing on my old PC logging back to it through Teamviewer.
Coupled with the low price (I estimate that it will cost me less than $10/month), I think it’s a pretty reasonable solution for a Mac user.