Hosted, Web-enabled databases are, if anything, a hotter topic than ever. The ability for anyone to construct a reasonably complex database complete with customized forms and reports when few if any database skills creates a whole new world of business opportunities. These opportunities apply not only to small businesses and consumers, but also to members of larger corporations who don’t have access to internal database resources and management skills.

Since this market started to take shape there has been a flood of contenders, some weak, some very good. Today’s newsletter focus, Trackvia, is in the excellent category.

Once signed up you can create any number of databases with unlimited views and reports and custom database fields. Databases can contain unlimited records and attached files (.jpg, .pdf, .xls, etc.) with secure data database backup – “we back up all customer data every hour around the clock. We can roll your data back to any single hour in the last 30 hours, any day in the last 35 days, or any Sunday morning ever.”

The system allows data entry by Web forms on other sites as well as from e-mail, supports a mashup with Google Maps for geolocation, and the company provides unlimited e-mail support.

You can create password user accounts for individual databases with either admin rights or user rights (fine-grained record creation and editing permissions).

These features, including unlimited office hours telephone support, are currently free for life during a promotional period (which ends Oct. 1) for signed up users (requires a credit card on file) - the normal subscription is $9.95 per month.

Other premium services include “Email blast” at $9.95 per 1,000 sent e-mails which allows for personalizing “e-mailed forms, newsletters, etc. with database fields (name, address, etc.),” a hosted e-mail address for your database at $4.95 per month per e-mail address, SSL encryption at $14.95 per month, and you can have “custom business logic” added to your database starting at $2,000 per month. A 14-day free trial is available.

Trackvia provides an option that more service companies should offer: Branding so that the system is identifiable as belonging to the client.

You can see from the tour and screenshots that Trackvia is polished and has many more features than most of the competition, making it stand out in the market

Mark Gibbs is a consultant, author, journalist, columnist and blogger.