While doing a bit of research on Adobe® Flash® and Microsoft® Silverlight®, I ran across a paper called, "The Business Case for Rich Internet Applications," published by Forrester Research. The title alone was intriguing because in our line of work, we are always trying to explain the business case for rich Internet application development, but it can be tricky to prove the bang for the buck.

This case gave some really solid examples of why rich development has benefited the bottom line. As user experience design experts, we naturally wanted to let you in on a few of the reasons included in this paper, as well as use our history to see how we have differentiated websites, applications and even mobile applications using RIA.

1. Helps Deliver that ‘Wow’ Factor

This is something we discuss a lot with our clients who are looking to increase the visual appeal of their website, especially to stand out against their competition. Because the online world is so tied to innovation and on-going improvement, users really expect, even somewhat passively, a certain level of richness and ingenuity. If your site is functional and intuitive, that can sometimes be enough. However what sets an online experience apart from ‘functional and intuitive’ is a website or web application that is ‘functional, intuitive and beautiful.’

Users and online shoppers are very emotionally driven, so if you get them excited about the visual appeal, then they will likely rationalize their next behavior (purchase, fill out an inquiry, join a group, etc.) At this point in time, the adoption rate of RIA into existing systems is high enough that most businesses should be paying attention.

2. Data Visualization

We have talked about this before, and how the data visualization paradigm has changed significantly over the years. People have grown tired of simple bar charts and pie graphs to break down numbers, percentages, and what-have-you. This is one way that you can really not only improve the look of your data representation, but very often make it more meaningful. By making the data more visually impactful, you increase the likelihood that people will want to interpret the meaning and pay attention. Better engagement leads to better, more informed decisions. Rich Internet application development has really taken this to a whole new level, because not only can data look stunning on a grand scale, people can interact with the data (look at it granularly, learn more about one data point, change scenarios, etc.).

3. Let’s You Think Outside the Box. Literally.

The great thing about Flash website development or Silverlight development is that it has very few limitations. It works seamlessly with existing technical systems, it has well-tested platforms and it can pretty much do whatever you want. So say you come up with a great business case for a rich Internet application, but you are unsure if it is possible. Because we subscribe to the philosophy that "Everything is possible," we believe it is possible with Flash or Silverlight development because these development frameworks allow you to do so much more. These tool sets allow you take your website and applications from static to interactive, and demonstrate your attention to innovation.

Additionally, now speaking in the literal sense, Silverlight and Flash both allow you to go out-of-browser and maintain a presence on users’ desktops. This sort of dedicated real-estate is business case enough in itself for many applications.

4. RIA Doesn’t always mean Game or Animation, It Improves Configurability

Because in-page rich Internet application development can centralize many tasks, it can be a huge boon to E-commerce or other kinds of check-out screens. This creates a better more natural flow in-browser of what the next task is. Additionally, building sites and applications based on this framework can allow you to incorporate a lot more media (videos, sound, and animation).

Continental has improved their check-out process by improving the flow of information, and the way that it interacts with other software systems. They leveraged Microsoft Silverlight development.

5. Helps Deliver User Experience and

Engagement

This is the most critical element and business case for rich development. User experience design is defined as developing software and application systems that have a positive experiential factor. What better way to create a positive experience than to add rich Internet application development? Because many RIA’s require active engagement, adding them to your site or application can increase the amount that people actively participate in your site, which often leads to increased loyalty.

Now that you have seen there are solid business cases for adding rich development to your site, where do you go from here? Finding yourself a solid custom software development partner who is adept in not only Silverlight and Flash, but has a background in AJAX, WPF and Actionscript Development. Luckily, I know just the company. Follow up with our custom software development team to learn more about your individual rich Internet application development project.