Managing Client/Server Implementations: Today's Technology, Yesterday's Lessons
Authors: Subramanian, Ashok; Lacity, Mary C.
Journal: Journal of Information Technology (1997)
DOI: 10.1177/026839629701200302
<jats:p>Client/server computing is quickly becoming the computing architecture of choice in the 1990s. However, like many advances in information technology, public sources, such as trade journals and newspapers, portray client/server as a completely new paradigm which will transform our profession. But is it? We are conducting multiple case studies on organizations that have adopted client/server technology in order to extract managerial prescriptions for best practices in evaluating, developing and implementing effective client/server systems. Thus far, we have completed three case studies. Many of the lessons we are uncovering – the need for top management support, redesigning business processes before automation, user participation, phased implementation strategies and buying-in vendor skills to transfer learning – have been identified by previous researchers in other information technology contexts. Thus, although client/server is being touted as a radical change in information technology, practitioners need not discard the lessons from the past. Although there are some unique technical skills required to deploy client/server systems effectively, confirming project management…