Re: as400 to WEB order entry

[Richard Wilson <arw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Concerning web-enabling order entry...
JGracetri@aol.com wrote:

> We are going to put order entry on the web. We have used a product to make
> our green screens GUI. To do this we use our orginal screen as the source for
> the GUI screen. So when a screen changes we have to go thru the re-gen
> process again.
>
> Our web users will be our sales force and a few selected customers.
> (snipped)
> One side says hammer down(as is), the other wants to streamline order entry
> with a seperate program. With just Cust# Item# QTY on the screen.
>
> I can go either way.

First, I'll declare an interest - we make a conversion toolkit that's relevant 
to
the next bit.

We've been looking for a simple way to web-enable our systems written with Synon
for
too many years now.  We finally had to make a decision, which was prior to the 
CA
takeover, and are now embarking on providing a new web-friendly front end.

We rejected screen scraper type technology, mainly beacus eit adds to our
maintenance cost but doesn't move the application forward.

Our researches in this whole area lead us to believe that you need to go for the
changes needed in the interaction over www.  Typically this means that you have
more care about security, you are more concerned with simplicity, about
overcoming (or supplementing) the issues surrounding error messages and prompts,
and of course, having the ability to add pictures, and the rest of the palette 
of
pop down radio stick up tabbed geegaws..

To cut the story short and answer the question.  As always, you must begin with 
a
clear defintion, agreed at the highest level, of exactly what the application is
to deliver.  All the indicators suggest that it may only be your sales force
*now*, but it will be your entire customer and prospect base next, so you should
look forward to that, and plan to move ahead when the tests are over.  There is
an implicatio nthat other business systems need to alter to meet electronic
information coming in from the web, otherwise the cost potentail is never
realised.

My money would be on an AS/400 based tool, avoiding as many complexities and
cost/skill pitfalls as possible by reducing the number of tools, languages, and
products to a minimum.

Ping me off-line if you want to talk further.


Richard Wilson
Technique Consultants Ltd
Synon users and proud of it...
LANSA users and pleased with it ...



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