Build a Better RIA

Building business benefits with Rich Internet Applications.

More Details

Rich Internet Application (RIA) is one of those terms that had a specific meaning when it was first coined in 2002 but has since mutated into a mess of differing opinions. Many business leaders would struggle to describe the true benefits or reasons for building RIAs.
Often the transition from fat to thin clients is messy and unproductive, resulting in less efficiency than the original system. This is due to the fact that these transitions have been largely technical in focus and the main catalyst behind the changes, the user, is forgotten or ignored.
Developers and IT have to deal with multiple browsers and platforms, security issues, uncontrolled architecture, and difficult user acceptance and support, resulting in longer wait times by the business and users for any requested changes or support.

Critical Insight

The term RIA is fast coming to a point of saturation and its original meaning is beginning to mutate, evolving into Rich Interactive Application in some circles. However, one of the original intents remains the same: desktop application robustness in an application presented on the Web.
Generally, business/enterprise applications have never been fun to use, and for many organizations, porting these applications to the Web only made them worse by creating user lag times while pages refreshed or data was retrieved from the servers. The result was poor performance, low productivity, and very low acceptance by the business user community.
Building an RIA creates an advantage for businesses struggling to get their target audiences to accept their applications. RIA is user-centric and leverages a more interactive approach to business applications, allowing business users to access virtually everything, on any device, anywhere, with power and performance limited only by the device being used.

Impact and Result

Understand and plan your RIA strategy now to improve user experience through interactivity, visual appeal, and rapid response times.
Respond to globalization and new business models with applications built for today’s realities, delivering business value using the latest technologies.
Select the right development tool for the job, avoiding the hype and buzz that surround certain RIA tools and frameworks.
Develop an accurate business case. Crunch the numbers using the examples provided in this research as a model for client-facing or employee-facing RIAs.
Employ and engage the correct resources with the right skills and personality for the RIA development team, or consider outsourcing.

Build a better RIA
Gain the most value from the RIA investment.
- Storyboard: Build a Better RIA
Understand what is required to be successful at RIA development
Choose the right RIA tool and make the business case.
- Building a Better RIA
Ensure the required expertise and skill sets are available
Build the appropriate team.