| Most applications in our work place today fall into two main categories.
1. Desktop Solutions (Client/Server Or Rich Clients)
These run company-wide or locally within a department. Typically, the Client application is installed on the local PC, and requests information from a MS SQL Server database. Issues normally arise when users need to access data outside their location, e.g on the road (laptop). These would normally require IT staff intervention which comes at a cost. There are also security issues and slow or unreliable performance that can affect such applications.
2. Web Applications (Thin Clients)
These were developed to solve the problems exposed by Desktop solutions. However you must be connected to the Internet to access any data when using Web applications. They are also more expensive to build and can be slow as both, the user interface and the data need to be downloaded each time the user performs an operation. The Web based user interface is also limited in capabilities in comparison to the rich graphical user interface available in Desktop applications.
This is where Smart Client solutions come in. They incorporate the positives of both Client/Server and Web applications whilst getting rid of the disadvantages. They are ideal for businesses where real time data is critical to their business and for staff who constantly need to access data on a variety of client equipment like laptops whilst on the move. They essentially combine the Desktop and Web capabilities into a single, easy-to-use and powerful application.
Microsoft now incorporates the ability to develop Smart Clients within Word 2003 and Excel 2003 documents. These documents also make full use of web services. Web services in their simplest terms are procedures or functions available on the Internet that can be consumed or integrated into your application. Office 2003 and Web services together offer a platform for building robust solutions to manage useful applications. With Smart Clients, organisations can continually update how and what information is shared via the Internet with partners, customers and employees, as well as within their own intranet and business applications across different data sources.
Solumac can now design and deploy custom, flexible and innovative Smart Client solutions quickly and easily by integrating new data sources with the familiar, comfortable user interfaces of Word 2003, Excel 2003 and other Microsoft Office System programs.
|
