A key player within the farming industry uses a database application to manage its business-critical data across the organisation. The company's 20 area managers were connecting to the application remotely to give them access to information on production within their region.

The application was built using client-server architecture, and as a result each user's PC needed to have the client program installed. For area managers this meant that they could not gain access to vital information whilst away from their main PC. Furthermore, each time the application was started up remotely, a large data set had to be transferred onto the client, and over dial-up connections, this could take up to half an hour.

Foremost IT provided secure web-based access to the same Oracle database, providing the area managers with a view of the data which was entirely customised to their requirements. By making this application web-based, and using a secure login procedure, they could access the data from any PC, even when away from the office. Furthermore, by dispensing with the client-server architecture, they no longer have to wait for large volumes of data to download.

• The application is customised for area managers, so the training costs associated with using the complex client program are no longer incurred.
• Time saving - no need to wait 30 minutes to download data, the majority of which is not required
• High accessibility - as the application is now web-based, information can be accessed anywhere, allowing area managers to view information critical to their decision making whilst at supplier sites
• Due to the success of this project, the company is now rolling the system out to its 4000+ suppliers to allow them instant, round the clock access to their own production information