The client is the server

If you think about it, you can see two broad approaches to life, what I call the on-board approach and the off-board approach, also known as thick and thin clients respectively. Everywhere you look, you can see these contrasting approaches:

1. In restaurants, many tables are so large and bedecked with so many utensils and ornaments that the diners cannot communicate effectively. Diners get flowers, dishes, flowers, lots of cutlery, cups and saucers, plates, candles, napkins, glasses and all manner of other clutter taking up all of the available space and preventing eaters from connecting.

An alternative and preferable approach gives you the utensils you need only if you order or request them e.g. ashtrays. Well designed buffets house the food selections in a room off the main dining area, with the utensils placed centrally in the middle of the entrance to this room, which diners pass when collecting and returning with their food so that they can collect the required accessories. People matter not possessions, which weigh you down.

2. Motorists could have a full specification local in-car navigation system with on-board maps held on CD-ROMs which get out of date quickly, cover a limited area and need to be physically updated with this data displayed on expensive screens. However, it is far better (and very importantly far cheaper and much easier to use) to take an off-board approach and have all of the maps running on a network which can be accessed by voice or text and respond in voice or text, giving directions and instructions and information on traffic holdups. Taking this off-board approach, you simply say where you want to go and get an arrow pointing in the direction of travel.

3. The same principle applies to personal computers. I do not need a full blown multimedia PC to run the word processing and Web browser software that I regularly use. Instead of retaining things on the off chance that you will need them at some unspecified later date, it is far better to have a thin client, a so-called network computer with which you can go off and get what you want when you want it- downloading a piece of software from the Internet in real time when you need it.

The Internet is the very best example of an off-board approach and very reason why is will have such a powerful affect on everyone's life and not just a few who can afford a high specification thick client. Instead, all you need is a Web browser which will come built into all manner of appliances and devices such as telephones and music hi-fi systems.

As the world speeds up, real time information and activity will be increasingly important. For example, it is more and more difficult to schedule service engineers one day let alone one week in advance when new jobs are coming in from customers all of the time. To respond in a timely manner, real time, on demand allocation is necessary.

Instead of the client being a slave to the server, individuals can be on-line and have seamless access to resources and information on demand as and when they need it, such that the client is the server. In the unorganized world, individuals need to be lean and mean and keen.

In the organized world, thick clients were king, in the unorganized world, thin clients will rule.

Author: Simon Buckingham

What do you think?

To make a comment to the author, send e-mail to simon@unorgan.com

 

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