Network Computing: Get Ready for the Next Wave

Is client/server old news already? Yes and no. What client/server began - a movement toward a distributed computing world - will certainly move forward. And the movement, currently referred to as network computing, is already underway.

With network computing, users can go beyond simply sharing data internally and enter into a universally connected global computing environment. This has big implications for businesses both large and small better customer interaction, easy global reach, and a true competitive edge.

Key to network computing is keeping information and application processing located within the network, allowing the broadest possible access and sharing through a variety of heterogeneous computing resources. The Internet, offering both reach and compatibility, is crucial to simplify access to this network-based information.

IBM continues to develop technology to exploit network computing for the benefit of its customers. Via such systems as the IBM Global Network (IGN) - which manages more than 5,000 host-based networks and thousands of LANs for more than 25,000 businesses and government agencies - and its newly announced European VSAT satellite communications network component, IBM is laying the foundation for a variety of network computing solutions.

In the meantime, get used to hearing less about client/server and more about the ubiquitous network. The next wave has arrived!

Note: This article was previously published in IBM's Personal Systems Advantage, Summer 1996. It contains excerpts from an article titled Network-centric computing, by Todd Watson in IBM's Software Quarterly, Volume 3, Number 1, 1996.