Server/Client Computing

Turning the World Right Side Up

Closing the Reality Gap

Globalization, increased competition and rapidly changing market dynamics are among the factors prompting enterprises to implement radical changes in their operating models. It is estimated by Gartner Group that, in the 1,000 largest corporations worldwide, 60 to 70 percent of all application development projects will be related to Business Process Reengineering (BPR). Yet while enterprises are increasingly recognizing the need for business process reengineering, a significant gap exists today between the return on investment delivered by BPR efforts and the benefits used to justify them. For information technology to support effective BPR, it must be capable of

Large-scale application across the enterprise
Rapid implementation to enable immediate automation of reengineered processes
Rapid evolution in step with changes made as part of BPR projects

The current state of client/server computing begins to address these problems, but needs to be taken much further. Server/client computing is geared towards closing that gap.

What is Server/Client Computing?

Server/client computing balances the focus of first-generation client/server tools on graphical client systems with the functional richness made available when server resources are fully leveraged. It is based on a server-centric dynamic repository that contains all relevant data to model and manage the business. This approach allows the rapid generation of complete business applications that are responsive to changes in the business environment.

Server/client computing was conceived by USoft to describe those attributes of a computing architecture necessary to bring the advantages of open distributed systems to larger-scale, enterprise-wide applications. What are the limitations of client/server, as it exists today, that server/client computing is designed to overcome?

Limitations of Client/Server

Substantial progress has been made by client/server architectures in exploiting the advantages offered by desktop systems. Yet, as far as these architectures have come in transforming the way information systems are used, they remain confined, at best, to using the server basically to store the database, and locating all business logic (as well as the user interface) on the desktop. Less sophisticated forms of client/server use the desktop client merely as a platform for a graphical user interface and are typically hampered by performance problems due to high network traffic volume. These models fail to leverage the true power of either the server or the client to deliver the benefits of distributed computing in full.

The application development tools supporting these models focus their emphasis on the client. Some tools are essentially GUI builders that treat the server almost as an afterthought. Those tools supporting remote data access address the development of the GUI as well as client-oriented business logic, but rely on additional non-integrated tools to define and access the database. In both cases, additional sets of technologies and skills are needed on the server side to provide a comprehensive client/server solution.

Because of these limitations, distributed function, a more sophisticated form of client/server that locates business rules on both clients and servers, remains today a complex implementation issue and has not matured to widespread production use. Larger-scale, enterprise-capable solutions requiring the more robust resources of server systems will be untouched by client/server until distributed function becomes viable.

Defining Business Rules at the Server Repository Enables Iterative Evolution Across the Enterprise

Server/client computing overcomes these limitations by basing development on a dynamic, repository located on the server. The repository holds all business rules, which are replicated for production use on all servers and clients in the network. Graphical clients, such as Microsoft Windows solutions, can access the repository through open application programming interfaces or ODBC. This method yields a number of important advantages:

Making Large-Scale Distributed Computing a Reality
With the flexibility to locate functions anywhere in the network -- on both servers and clients -- enterprises can leverage all computing resources at their disposal to tackle larger, resource-intensive applications.
Implementing Consistent Rules Definition & Evolution Across the Enterprise
Because the repository actively updates flat-file versions of itself on each system, one change to the development repository automatically proliferates the change everywhere. The repository's object-based structure ensures that all data and business rules "inherit" any change.
Substantial Improvements in Productivity
Server/client computing defines the entire solution, not just the user interface or the client business logic. There is no requirement for additional proprietary 3GL coding.
Server/client Runtime Efficiency
USoft's ability to balance network traffic and loads provides higher optimized runtime performance than traditional client/server solutions.
Elimination of Maintenance in the Conventional Sense
Server/client computing's emphasis on the repository means that there is no need for maintenance as a separate task in the development cycle. As business rules evolve, they are entered into the repository and the system is regenerated, applying changes across the enterprise.
Changing the Focus of Developers' Activity
to Understanding the Requirements of the Business
Centralized management of business rules at the repository means that developers shift their focus to defining rules, instead of coding. By enabling the building of systems in an iterative fashion, developers can quickly capture business rules, demonstrate prototypes to users, refine the system and repeat the process as many times as needed.

Until now, client/server development tools have come from suppliers with an understanding of -- and primary focus on -- the desktop. As long as the solutions development is restricted this way, the reengineering of business processes will not effectively be achieved across enterprise-wide implementations. Server/client computing essentially turns distributed architectures right-side up by building from the server out and enabling the consistent proliferation of new business processes across the enterprise.

USoft: The Server/Client Software Company

USoft is based on a unique server/client architecture that offers capability far beyond existing client/server tools. Server/client balances the client-focus of first generation client/server tools by delivering both the sizzle of graphical clients, as well as the functional richness of server-based solutions. Server/client picks up where client/server leaves off by providing unheralded application development productivity and flexibility, at all levels of the enterprise.

USoft offers complete education, consulting and support services. USoft professionals will be glad to:

Install and support a USoft Developer proof-of-concept pilot.
Assist you in defining your business model.
Migrate existing business applications to state-of-the-art USoft Developer applications.
Train and support your IT professionals.

To investigate a partnership with USoft for developing and implementing server/client solutions, call toll-free at 1-800-For-USoft, or call one of our offices.

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