highfivesmartclients

Summary: Smart Client High Five WikiSheet

Top 5 Business Needs

1. Increase User Productivity	In memory lookups instead of server round trips increases responsiveness and decreases user wait time. Contextual integration with other applications and linking Office documents directly to LOB applications reduces time and errors by reducing data re-entry.
2. Reduce Training Costs	Office user interface can be directly leveraged or easily mimicked in applications. This makes applications more familiar to end users, reducing training costs.
3. Support Mobile Users	Caching data appropriately for use offline allows workers to get value out of data and applications when not connected to the network, making investments in laptops, Tablet PCs and mobile devices available 24x7.
4. Deliver Solutions Faster	Visual designers and wizards make it easy to quickly build user interface and business logic in new applications or in Office solutions, lowering time to production.
5. Reduce Deployment Cost	Deploy client applications with the ease of Web deployment using ClickOnce.

Top 5 Technology Enablers

1. Fast navigation, lookup, data entry and validation	Create locally running task-based UI inclusive of speed-key navigation, in-memory data lookup, and contextual integration with other client applications for reduced data entry.
2. Intuitive, Familiar User Interface	Integrate with Office documents and applications with which users are already familiar; use these same UI metaphors with task-specific layout and tools for customer applications.
3. Data Caching and Synchronization	Use client applications that replicate data locally on the client and intelligently synchronize changes when connected.
4. Professional developer tools and a powerful programming model	Use a professional-grade developer tool that provides things like integrated debugging, access to source code control systems and a rich, modern development framework.
5. Simplified Deployment and Maintenance	Publish and republish applications and framework that are automatically deployed and updated when the user starts the application.

Top 5 Microsoft Technology Differentiators

1. Asynchronous data retrieval, interaction with local controls	Retrieve data asynchronously, cache and bind to local UI controls. Sort and filter with standard client controls, or easily create custom controls for custom data.
2. Office experience for applications using VSTO and Windows Forms controls	Document-centric solutions for Word, Excel, and InfoPath; application-level solutions for Outlook; sophisticated support for graphics, accessibility, localization, printing, and Office-like tool strips for custom applications.
3. Data Components and Controls	Easy and efficient support for asynchronous data access, multiple concurrent query execution, network connectivity detection, and flexible data binding.
4. Visual Studio and .NET Framework	Multi-language, powerful framework and advanced graphical IDE allow teams to quickly build and deliver powerful UI and business logic.
5. ClickOnce	IDE and framework for publishing, deploying and versioning applications with API level control of assembly loading.

Top 5 Examples

1. Dell (Call Center)

For call center agents at Dell who need fast access to customer data, Integrated Dell Desktop is a smart client application that aggregates multiple back-end systems into a single unified view. Unlike the prior web-based solution, IDD optimizes call time by avoiding constant round trips to the server and integrating 17 information sources into a single application view. ( see http://www.microsoft.com/resources/casestudies/casestudy.asp?CaseStudyID=16276 )

2. Dexterra

For enterprises who want to quickly and easily create customized mobile enterprise applications out of the box, Dexterra Field products are a set of out of the box components that can quickly and easily be configured into a mobile enterprise application by individuals with no development experience. Unlike solutions that require a sophisticated software development team, solutions built with Dexterra’s Field products can be built and highly customized through wizards and user interfaces, drastically reducing or eliminating the amount of custom code that must be created to build an application.

Top 5 Information Sites

1. MSDN Site

http://msdn.microsoft.com/smartclient

Top 5 Community Sources

1. David Hill's Blog

http://blogs.msdn.com/dphill