Web Applications

 

Prior to the advent of the World Wide Web (Web or WWW), information systems (IS) applications were expensive to build. Each firm had a unique set of customized applications designed by in-house IS staff. These applications resided on larger mainframe and/or midrange computer systems that were cumbersome to use without some amount of training. Further, applications designed for one platform (IBM's mainframe systems, for example), had to be modified extensively to run on another computer manufacturer's platform (Sun Microsystems, for example). To further complicate matters, applications designed for one platform (IBM's mainframe, for example) had to be modified extensively to run on another platform made by the same manufacturer (IBM's midrange, for example)!

 

Applications development eventually transitioned through several intermediate stages and has evolved to relying on the basic Web and Internet technologies that most people are familiar with. Contemporary applications are built around using, as an integral component, the omnipresent WWW browser (Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Mozilla Foundation's Firefox are examples). The advantage is that these applications, if based on appropriate usability factors and sound information architecture in mind, require virtually no training to use. Further, applications are now compatible across platforms and across computer system manufacturers, thus reducing complexity that was inherent in traditional application development environments. Finally, web applications are very graphical in nature, thereby enhancing the user experience.

 

Mainframes and midrange systems are by no means extinct. They have become integral components in the Web infrastructure, allowing large companies to process millions of customer, credit card, and other business transactions during a typical business day.

 

Benefits to Small and Medium Businesses

 

Small and medium businesses have much to gain from the evolution of applications to the Web. Whereas applications traditionally required major investments in technology, contemporary applications require processing power that is more than adequately available in current PCs. Where additional storage and processing power are needed, Microsoft Windows Server-based server systems can be purchased at relatively reasonable prices that facilitate the hosting of Web, E-mail, and other applications. In case businesses do not wish to take-on the management and maintenance of server systems, a large number of hosting providers have developed reliable and secure infrastructure that businesses can use to house their applications inexpensively. Either way, businesses can take advantage of the potential that the Web offers in marketing and/or selling their products and services online without having to make huge investments on procuring and maintaining information technologies.