Seldom before has any technology promised so much to so many. If you believe what you read, so-called "client-server" computer systems will cut the cost of information technology, make computers easier to use, provide unprecedented computing power, speed systems development, and transform the shape of organizations as well as the nature of management.

To winnow the truth from these claims, we undertook an in-depth study of five large corporations, each at a different stage of implementing client-server solutions, in five different industries: consumer packaged goods, insurance, regional banking, transport, and investment banking. In each case, we interviewed both the CIO and line managers, and analyzed the costs and benefits of in-place client-server systems. We then validated our findings through a series of roundtable discussions with managers from another 20 large and medium-sized companies.

What we found, in brief, is that client-server technology does create unique opportunities to implement ambitious programs of corporate change. It makes possible computer systems that are more flexible and easier to modify than their predecessors. And it eases the task of redesigning the way decisions, especially cross-functional decisions, are made within an organization. Inevitably, however, significant challenges stand in the way of those who would...