Enterprises have enjoyed great benefits from the
internet, browsers and web applications, but it is time for a
change.
In the 1990s, HTML and HTTP gave developers a rallying point for
interoperability. Simple and efficient, HTML enabled the blending
of text and images into static pages for viewing within a browser,
and HTTP provided a stateless protocol for delivery. Web pages were
generated by the web server and sent to the client for rendering.
HTML both opened the web to everyone, and at the same time, limited
the interaction between the client and the server.
Meanwhile, client server computing delivered much richer client
applications but introduced client distribution, installation and
maintenance problems. The web complicated issues by introducing
security requirements and a growing user reluctance to install
client-side software to access remote internet services.
Until recently, it was difficult to build rich user interfaces
for web applications. Dynamic HTML and embedded scripting have
improved choices, but parity with desktop applications has not yet
been achieved.
Organisations want the best of both worlds: rich user
interfaces, simple development tools, simple software deployments
and updates, no client-side software installation headaches, and
applications that are built once yet have the same capabilities
across multiple browsers, operating systems and devices.
Today, many products can meet these requirements - but they
provide more than just a better user interface. They are powerful
tools for improving sales, customer retention, staff productivity
and network efficiencies.
Two initiatives, known as smart clients and rich internet
applications (RIAs), are tackling the client server and web
application user interface problems, respectively. Yet these are
really two sides of the same coin.
Rich user interfaces for web-based applications are being
addressed by Flash-based systems (Macromedia Flex and Laszlo),
World Wide Web Consortium standards, open source offerings such as
Mozilla, and some Java-based RIA initiatives. While Microsoft's
forthcoming Avalon and XAML (Extensible Application Markup
Language) and client-side Java systems are improving application
deployment and management. Although Flash is widely used on the
desktop and Java is pervasive across non-desktop devices, no single
system meets all requirements.
Microsoft will be a contender once Avalon and XAML are
delivered. Client-side Java is improving, and there are systems for
layering rich web user interfaces over Java without distributing
large applications to the desktop.
Businesses have largely dismissed rich user interfaces for
enterprise applications. Yet many of these have matured
considerably, enabling powerful client user interfaces while
reducing network traffic. This is a market in flux, so there are
legitimate lock-in concerns, as users weigh the benefits of smart
clients and RIAs against what is possible with HTML.
Presentation is in transition, with many choices from
traditional application development platforms and new XML-based
interface presentation servers and clients.
Users should not dismiss XML-based products as solely for
business-to-customer applications or advertising - they can provide
a powerful infrastructure for addressing enterprise application
user interface and network requirements.
It is unlikely that any single system will capture the market,
but the four primary categories - Java, Flash-based, Microsoft, W3C
standards and open source - address specific needs. And enterprises
should evaluate and experiment with XML-based systems to improve
user interfaces and reduce network utilisation.
Gary Hein is vice-president and service director at research
and consultancy firm Burton Group