But often such apps can't deal with the multiple personalities of data feeds. Microsoft is slowly changing, but the legacy remains strong. Trend is app-centered Neither approach is wrong. The choice depends on your users' needs and budget. Commercial software costs less.
Standardization is valuable to a far-flung operation.
What's changing this either-or scenario is the flood of new data. Data collection from conventional sources is augmented by data culled from Web forms and from field entries in handheld computers and digital phones. Add to this the growing agency use of voice-response systems that both distribute and collect information, plus the public's expectation that public data should be tailored to their needs. A single enterprise database, accessible via Web server, remains the backbone of the system, but from the Web server hang multiple independent app servers. For example, ColdFusion from Allaire Corp. of Cambridge, Mass., provides both a server component and an application development environment.