Internet Software Development

The development of the Internet and the World Wide Web has had a profound effect on all of our lives. Initially, the web was primarily a universally accessible information store, and it had little effect on software systems. These systems ran on local computers and were only accessible from within an organization. Around 2000, the web started to evolve, and more and more functionality was added to browsers. This meant that web-based systems could be developed where, instead of a special-purpose user interface, these systems could be accessed using a web browser. This led to the development of a vast range of new system products that delivered innovative services, accessed over the web. These are often funded by adverts that are displayed on the user’s screen and do not involve direct payment from users.

As well as these system products, the development of web browsers that could run small programs and do some local processing led to an evolution in business and organizational software. Instead of writing software and deploying it on users’ PCs, the software was deployed on a web server. This made it much cheaper to change and upgrade the software, as there was no need to install the software on every PC. It also reduced costs, as user interface development is particularly expensive. Wherever it has been possible to do so, businesses have moved to web-based interaction with company software systems.