InformationWeek

But Cannondale wanted to keep things simple. With only five IT staffers, the company couldn't manage client software for each of the 30 Wintel workstations it wanted to deploy for employee access to the application.

The solution? Build an online intranet application rather than a conventional client-server application. Based on Progress Software Corp.'s 4GL programming code and proprietary database, Mike Dower, VP of IT at Cannondale, says his company avoided almost all client maintenance concerns and the need for local installation and maintenance of client software. Each workstation accesses the program through a Netscape 4.0 browser--the only software necessary on the workstations.

Though Dower admits that the application interface, which is presented in HTML on the browser, is far from elegant, it performs all the functions Cannondale needs.

In fact, the company plans to move many of its core applications, such as inventory management, to an online platform in the next few years. "The tracking program showed us just how much easier Web applications are to deploy and develop than traditional client-server software," Dower says.

Dower isn't the only IT manager praising the viability of Web applications for business-critical operations. Internally developed Web applications distributed over an intranet and browsers are proving a potent business computing platform.

Major companies such as Nortel Networks Corp. are moving enterprise applications to Web platforms. Steve Chevell, director of business practices for core networks at the telecommunications equipment maker, says the growing sophistication, ubiquity, and momentum make Web technology a long-term investment. "There's nothing you can't do with the Web platform," he says.

Chevell's group will deploy its first online project-planning tool, IDWeb, from a company of the same name in Reno, Nev. Chevell, who looked for quality collaboration tools for a number of years, says IDWeb is the first product to meet his group's need for collaborative methods and easy-to-access applications. It also offers a well-crafted central Microsoft SQL database repository for project information.

While online apps are gaining support, the technology is far from perfect. The browser architecture limits the interface sophistication and computing power of these applications, says Ray Causey, CIO at Mail Boxes Etc. in San Diego.

In addition, the dependence on the server for processing and the layout inherent in HTML text prevent the Web platform from handling complex business tasks such as advanced accounting that have intensive local memory and computing requirements, Causey says. An app like that, which needs to constantly hit the Web server for information, would slow processing too much, he says.

Nevertheless, developers are figuring out more ways to use Web apps effectively. Causey's IT group, for example, uses caching--storing transient bits of programs or data locally in desktop RAM--to increase the speed or functionality of a Web program. One such program helps sales personnel track leads for potential franchisees of the Mail Boxes Etc. stores. This approach puts more processing demands on the client but still preserves the advantages of the Web architecture by avoiding any client software installation.

The trade-off is ease of use. "We don't even have to train people how to use it," says Mark Esdale, CEO of CAD Resource Centre Ltd. in Toronto, referring to the Upshot contact-management program his company uses from application service provider Upshot.com.

Browser manufacturers are quick to point out that future product generations will solve many of the limitations. Netscape Navigator 4 and Microsoft Explorer 5 "were lousy for deploying rich applications," says Eric Krock, group product manager for tools and components at Netscape.

The latest browser from Netscape--Navigator 6, due later this year--will be driven by a revamped engine known as Gecko, which tries to address many of these concerns. The Gecko engine will support the latest Internet stand-ards technology, such as HTML 4.0, cascading style sheets, JavaScript 1.5, and the Extensible Markup Language. It will also make possible greater client-side interactivity with Web applications and will greatly reduce previous click-and-wait problems.

In addition, new Internet technology standards such as the XML-based User Interface Language, will greatly aid programmers in creating graphical user interfaces that have much more of the look and feel of conventional client-server applications, Krock says. "XUL will democratize GUI development on the Web," he says. Such developments can only fuel business Web apps.

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