Web-Based versus Web-Enabled Business Applications by Peter D. Wallace
Often times during our trade shows we run across the question of web-based versus web-enabled approaches to software applications for business. What is the difference? Which is better? In this article I’ll explain both approaches and their advantages and disadvantages.
Web-Based
Simply put, a web-based application is one that uses native web protocols for displaying information to a user, and allowing for data entry and reporting. This is a typical look and feel to the casual user of today as it is similar to existing marketing websites on the World Wide Web. The user is presented with a page of information and links, and when a link is single-clicked with the mouse a new page comes up. The user can navigate through the website via these links and the “back” button on the browser. Occasionally, the user can enter data via input boxes for names and addresses or search criteria.
One advantage to the user of a web-based application is that the interface is a browser, typically Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. This single client interface can then be used to access several different websites across the enterprise in a consistent fashion.
Another advantage of web-based applications is the cost to deploy, upgrade and support the application. Since the application is just a website, upgrading it can be as easy as copying over a directory of files. Instantly, all users of the website are upgraded at once.
One possible disadvantage to a web-based application is performance. If the application is not written correctly it will perform badly. This can spell disaster for users if the application is meant to function well in real-time situations such as call centers. As we all know the web in general is prone to delays. These delays can be minimized by placing the application within the intranet and ensuring high-speed communications to the servers and quality hardware to publish the website.
Web-Enabled
Business applications that are specialized in their functionality might not fit well in a native web environment. This means that the application uses some special technology that is not offered via native web protocols, or that the application was written for earlier support of direct database connectivity for speed. These applications are typically loaded directly onto the user’s PC via a setup program. Most of us have purchased software and loaded it onto our PC in this fashion, while few of us have installed our own website. These applications work well for single user environments or for enterprise environments where the application is specialized.
However, it is possible to take business applications that were designed for direct PC installation, and make them available via a web browser to users across the enterprise. This technique is called web-enabling the application. By web-enabling an application it becomes available to users across the enterprise via a browser such as Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. A common product that allows for web-enabling applications is called Citrix Metaframe. In contrast to a web-based application, after a user logs into a web-enabled application, the browser no longer is the interface. So, there aren’t any traditional browser links for navigating in these applications, nor is there a “back” button like the browser has.
Possibly the biggest advantage of web-enabling legacy business applications via Citrix is that specialized functionality embedded into the application can easily be extended to the enterprise via the web. In order for specialized applications to provide a meaningful return on investment to an organization, several years of productive deployment are required due to the high cost of development. For applications that were written before the web became a viable protocol for business, to capture this ROI means the application must be preserved in its original form yet made available over the web. Hence, the popularity of web-enabling technologies like Citrix.
Another advantage of web-enabled applications is performance. It is hard for a web-based application to match the snappy performance of a legacy windows client-server application that has been web-enabled via Citrix. This is especially true when the database being used has thousands of records that need to be presented to the user.
The main disadvantage of a web-enabled application to the user is the lack of consistency in the user interface compared to web-based apps. Users must learn the specialized application’s interface which will be different than the standard browser.
The disadvantage to the IT department for a web-enabled application is increased cost and support since a front-end application like Citrix must be deployed to web-enable the application.
Conclusion
The clear winner here for the future is web-based business applications. But, and this is a big but, the application must be written correctly if it is to be used in specialized environments such as high volume call centers which require consistent, near-real-time access to data and input. (Note: our product CrossForm does fall into this category!)
The industry wide investment necessary to convert legacy business applications to web-based applications is staggering. It will take time to get the specialized industry converted but it will happen.
Here at Mainstream we are committed to web-based applications and we have shown that with our investment in our CRS (client request system), VAWS (vendor activity website) and our new CrossForm Portal product that we have developed alongside our partner, CB Richard Ellis.