The wild west of corporate computing.

• Author: Diamond, Sidney
• Position: Client-server computing - Includes related articles - Information Management

Welcome to the client-server frontier, where the old rules don't apply and the new ones aren't finished yet. To find out who's on the leading edge and why, one financial executive asked his peers how their companies are pioneering the transition from mainframe to distributed processing.

Client-server computing is causing profound changes, anxieties and opportunities throughout both the information-technology and business communities. Information technology has gone through some far-reaching changes, but no prior computing movement has been as pervasive as the current migration from the mainframe architecture to the multibox, client-server approach.

In a nutshell, client-server technology allows you to distribute processing between a client or front-end device, such as a personal computer or terminal, and a server or back-end processor. The client is responsible for the user interface and data-validation functions, while the server handles the data-repository activities. A multitude of specialized servers may be dedicated to functions such as the management and storage of data bases, communication, printing and naming (for items like telephone lists and data directories).

Senior management often views the client server environment simply as personal computers linked together. In fact, client-server architecture may be a very complex structure integrating many technologies, and adopting a client-server environment entails profound cultural, behavioral and technical changes in both the user and IT areas. The migration path is uncharted and fraught with barriers and false starts. Few organizations know how to move from a large installed base of legacy systems on mainframe processors to a client-server architecture. Past strategies and techniques are unreliable at best. Call it the Wild West of corporate computing.

But although client-server technology is still in its infancy, results from information-systems organizations are starting to trickle in. As an executive interested in the vast potential of the technology, I wanted to uncover the leading-edge and best practices for managing client-server computing, so I conducted an informal benchmarking survey of more than 50 information-technology consultants and CIOs of companies such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, Nynex, Massachusetts Mutual Insurance, International Flavors and Fragrances, Carolina Power & Light, Olin, Wachovia Bank, Mead, Conrail, Unum Insurance and others. Here are some of the questions I posed to them and the answers I received.

What are the most common misconceptions about client-server technology? As early users of client-server technology, the survey participants debunked several myths, such as the notion that the client-server approach is eight to 10 times less expensive than mainframe approaches. Bob Woodrow, director of Nynex's telecommunications group, says, "If you focus purely on the cost element, you can be led astray. If companies spend roughly $3,000 per user for client-server hardware and software, they'll shell out three or four times that for intangibles such as help desks."

How do these costs compare to the costs of the mainframe approach? Bob Wagner, former CIO of Conrail, notes, "If you look at Conrail's budget for 1992 vs. 1993, the company spent more money on client-server technology than on the mainframe technology!" Many of the other survey participants agreed client-server computing can easily be more expensive. As Woodrow says, "You can make the case that client-server technology is 20 percent to 30 percent more expensive if you factor in trouble-shooting, graphical-user-interface experts and support costs."

Why are so many companies pursuing client-server computing? What's the promise of the technology? Frank Kemp, director...