Some of the more popular forms of Web Applications are e-Business web sites and Enterprise Portals. But these solutions only represent a fraction of what can be accomplished by web-enabling a window into the information resources of an organization. Web applications are now a widely accepted and, in many cases, the preferred architecture for business-specific software solutions, whether they are implemented as an add on to an existing solution or as the architecture of choice for a new development project.

Answer: Web applications can be designed to be very secure. Although no one would (or should) say a web-based application is totally hack-proof, current technologies provide protection for a wide range of intrusions.

The overall design of the system and the software and security policies dictate the level of security that can be achieved. How much security is prudent or possible is quite often driven by the damage that could be done by a breach, or the likelihood of a hacker investing the effort to breach your site. There is no question that any system exposed on a network or on the Internet needs to be well designed, and the risks appreciated by the key decision makers of the organization. The good news is that a high degree of security can be achieved with reasonable investment and good design.

Answer: The feasibility of web applications continues to increase due to the inherent reliability of the Internet, expanding bandwidth capacity, availability of wireless access, improvements in security architectures such as VPN's and firewall-protected computer systems, and the ever improving cost vs. performance curve of computer components.  These advances allow an organization to realize many benefits, some of which are:

• The ability to access an application from almost anywhere without incurring the costs and complexity of alternative schemes. 
• Minimal costs and/or limitations when bringing a new user "on-line". 
• Low support costs associated with deploying application updates to a geographically dispersed community. 
• Enhanced end user functionality by mixing structured and unstructured content within a single application.

Answer: Actually, a web application is a client/server application. The difference between the two architectures is the amount and type of software loaded on the client computer (i.e. the end-user's computer). Both architectures use back-end servers, with at least one server being a database server. Both architectures may have "middle tier" servers that provide business logic or common elements. The web application will always have one or more web servers.

Web applications use a web browser (Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator, for example) as the client user interface software. The functionality of the web application determines how much capability is needed in the client browser. "Thin" applications need a minimal (or very common) set of features in the browser, and are usually targeted at broad audiences with potentially low bandwidth access. "Thicker" applications use more sophisticated capabilities of a browser, and tend to target more defined user communities or groups that have access to higher bandwidth capabilities. But, in all cases, a standard "off-the-shelf" browser is the means by which a user communicates with the application.

The "client" of the traditional client/server application is the software loaded on an end-users computer. A main software program (and usually hidden components) must reside on the user's computer. Therefore, setting up and configuring a user's computer is more involved, and usually requires a higher degree of support. This architecture also expects to work in high-bandwidth networks, and is not easily or reliably deployed outside the walls (in network terms) behind which the back-end servers reside.

Answer: The client/server architecture does have some important advantages. The most significant is the feature-rich user interface that can be deployed on the end user's computer. For computer intensive job requirements, a sophisticated user interface could be a very important capability that has a big effect on the user experience and their efficiency. Also, by having the program reside on the end user's computer, more functionality is possible above and beyond the user interface style.

The good news is that a software solution can be a hybrid of both the client/server and web-enabled architectures if the business need is warranted.

Answer: This is a definite maybe! The application would need to be analyzed and the web-enabled aspects defined. In general, if the back-end database and the business tier are based on relatively current distributed technology, then the answer is probably "yes". An analysis is required to flush out the details, and a complete Solution Plan should be derived.

This is a common question when an existing application meets current requirements, but other beneficial functions can be realized by "exposing" some parts of the application to Internet or intranet access.