Smart Clients in Action
Rob Barker
Technical Evangelist
Developer & Platform Evangelism
Microsoft Corporation
rbarker@microsoft.com
Agenda
Why are Smart Clients important?
Smart Client scenarios
Technology overview
Roadmap
Demo
Contoso Realty
Smart Client Solution
Bridging the Gap
IT
Business
strategy
judgment
Business
Practice
oversight
change
insight
Applications
Infrastructure
tradeoffs
Business Functions
Efficient Business Ecosystem
Decide
Insight
Act
Collaborate
Oversight
Business Practice
Business Practice
Business Applications
Applications
Business Functions
Infrastructure
Infrastructure
The Client “Last Mile” Problem
Intellectual capital stored in multiple
systems
Complexity increases as number of
systems increase
Users productivity decreases as number
of disparate systems and user interfaces
increases
Systems effective
only if users can
interact with data
naturally
Need for data both
online and offline
Smart Client Solutions
Activity based clients for acting on data
Consume and provide data in relevant context
Allows users to analyze and act on data
quickly
XML Web
Services
Industry Momentum is Building for a New Client
“Web-based solutions just can’t provide the rich users interface and performance
which users like our traders need.”
“The problems with browser-based
approaches … have become all too
well-known”
“…It sounds a bit like heresy, but the
web-based portal does not really make
a very effective interface to functionality
that resides in many systems"
“The Client is Back”
Jonathan Schwartz,
Sun’s president and COO
Opening remarks at JavaOne 2004
“The current enthusiasm for a browser-based
enterprise is shortsighted. As firms trade in
their desktop clients for browsers they’ll find:
primitive functionality… bandwidth gluttony…
terrible usability.”
“As proof of their disillusionment, a staggering
one-third of IT decision makers report having
plans for migrating some applications back to
richer client environments.”
IBM Puts New Spin On Client Computing
(May 2004)
Web Services &
Offline/Online
support
Heavy
Footprint
Tough to
Deploy
Rich User
Experience
Broad
Reach
Developer
Productivity
DLL Hell
Easy Change
Management
Ease of
Deployment
Responsive
Device
Adaptability
Network
Dependency
Poor User
Experience
Complex
To Develop
Benefits
Usage Requirements
Occasional users
Highly responsive UI
Mobile users
Ecosystem collaboration
Solution Capabilities
Take advantage of existing
hardware investments
Connected
Offline capable
Intelligent install and deployment
Device flexibility
Top Line
Empower every
individual
Access
Experience reflects
Collaborate
activity
Communicate
Capitalize on
Competitive
investments in
Advantage
service orientation
Friction free
information flow
Bottom Line
Author
Absorb
Decide
Development
Operations
Resources
Training
Line of
Business
Web
Enrichment
Mobility
Windows
Call Centers
Applications
Interactive Web
Shopping Application
Mobile Technician
Application
Bank Teller
Applications
Online/Offline
Portal Applications
CRM/SFA Apps on
Mobile Devices
Office
Smart Client Scenarios
Data Analysis (BI)
Real Estate Document
Generation
Agency Inspections
Office front-end to
CRM System
Inventory Management
Real-time Contract
Creation
Line Of Business Smart Clients
Line of
Business
Data in LOB systems are often
exposed on a per data source
basis
Windows
Call Centers
Applications
Office
One client per LOB app
Data Analysis (BI)
Bank Teller
Applications
Office front-end to
CRM System
Users typically need to deal with
multiple back end systems to
complete routine tasks
Smart Clients tie together multiple
back end systems to match users
roles and activities in a single,
responsive interface
Users are able to be more
productive thereby completing
tasks more efficiently
Web Enrichment Smart Client
Office
Windows
Web
Enrichment
Interactive Web
Shopping Application
Online/Offline
Portal Applications
Real Estate Document
Generation
Inventory Management
The Web offers a limited user
experience
‘Forward-Back-Roundtrip’
paradigm time consuming and
inconvenient
Allowing to interact with Web data
offline
Need to be able to view and act on
heterogeneous data without losing
context
Smart Clients bring data into a
more effective user interface
where they can be more easily
viewed, added to, and acted upon
Mobile Smart Client
Office
Windows
Mobility
Mobile Technician
Application
CRM/SFA Apps on
Mobile Devices
Agency Inspections
Real-time Contract
Creation
Information workers are highly
mobile today; applications are not
Users require the relevant
information to be available at all
times to make business decisions
Smart Clients can intelligently
synchronize data to the client for
use offline
Optimize available connectivity
options and schedules
Smart Client Technologies
Windows Forms
Smart Clients
XML & Web Services
ClickOnce
Smart Client Technologies
Create a custom UI and work
flow to match your business
process
Consolidate data from
multiple back end systems
Create an interact web
experience that works offline
Simplify deployment and
management
Build applications for
environments where Office is
not available
Support mobile devices (e.g.XML
PDA, smart phone)
Windows
Application
Easily connect back-end data
to familiar front-end
applications
Utilize existing Office
features and capabilities
Add business logic to Office
documents
Create simple and intuitive
forms
Automatically pull XML and
other data into Excel or Word
Generate text-intensive
Web
Services
documents
with rich
formatting
Code Behind
Smart Document
Smart Clients
Application
Device
Add-In or
&
Application
Extension
Smart Clients
Smart Client Technologies
Windows Application
• .NET Framework
• Windows Forms
• ClickOnce
Code Behind SmartDoc
• VSTO
• Word
• Excel
• Infopath
Device Application
• .NET Compact Fx
• Windows Forms
Application Extension
• VSTO
• Outlook
Smart Clients
Windows Forms Smart Clients
Radically simplified
application
deployment
ClickOnce deployment,
update, rollback
Visually Appealing UI
New Data Controls
Office Look and Feel
Developer productivity
Simplify working with
data
Fewer lines of code
Few clicks
.NET Framework
distribution
120 million
deployments
Preinstalled on 60% of
new machines and
growing
Included on SP2 CD
Windows Mobile Smart Clients
Instant access to data
anywhere, anytime
Form factor and
instant-on more
appropriate for most
field work
Access existing Web
Services
Leverage .NET
development skills
and code on devices
with .NET Compact
Framework
Office System Smart Clients
Connect live business data to
your documents & access them off-line
Leverage existing Office experience of end
users
Leverage rich and robust Office functionality
Platform Investments
Development Tools
Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office
Microsoft Office Information Bridge Framework
Visual Studio 2005 Tools For Office
Strategic tool for developing Office solutions
Currently supports building document-centric
solutions for Word and Excel 2003
Office development approachable
Provides all the productivity of Visual Studio
Provides all the power of the .NET Framework
Leverages the skills of .NET developers
Secure and easy to deploy
Based on .NET Code Access Security
Online ClickOnce deployment model with
Visual Studio 2005 (Beta)
Technology Roadmap
• VSTO 2003
- Microsoft Office Word 2003
- Microsoft Office Excel 2003
• Microsoft Office IBF 1.5 (SP)
- Microsoft Word 2003
- Microsoft Excel 2003
- Microsoft Outlook 2003
- Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003
- Microsoft Internet Explorer
• Visual Studio .NET 2003
• Windows Forms 1.0
• PAG
- Application Updater Block
- Offline Block
• .NET Compact Framework 1.0
• .NET Framework 1.1
Now
VSTO 2005
- Microsoft Office Word 2003
- Microsoft Office Excel 2003
- Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003
IBF with LOB Connectors
- Out-of-Box Connectivity to LOBs
- Tool Enhancements
- New Hosts Supported
• Visual Studio 2005
• Windows Forms 2.0
- ClickOnce
• Future Windows Mobile
• .NET Compact Framework 2.0
• .NET Framework 2.0
Future
Summary
Why Smart Client solutions are important
Smart Client Scenarios
Line of Business
Web Enrichment
Mobile Field
Reviewed Technologies
Windows Forms
Windows Mobile
Microsoft Office System
Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office
Microsoft Information Bridge Framework
Roadmap
Resources
Places to learn more about Smart Clients
Smart Clients
http://msdn.microsoft.com/office/
http://msdn.microsoft.com/smartclient/
http://microsoft.com/net/smartclient/
Sample code, forums, articles, etc.
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/practices/default.mspx
http://www.windowsforms.net
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio
Additional smart client technologies
Windows Forms: http://www.windowsforms.net
Mobile: http://msdn.microsoft.com/mobility/
Architecture: http://msdn.microsoft.com/architecture/
Data Access: http://msdn.microsoft.com/data/
Visual Studio Tools for Office, etc.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/office/
http://msdn.microsoft.com/office/understanding/vsto
© 2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
This presentation is for informational purposes only. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, in this summary.