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Ultimately, though, only EDS actually developed the technology and
the source code.
Bank One and Norwest employees worked with EDS employees to
determine the appropriate technical environment, tools, and
products for SBS. (At any given time, approximately 100 people
from each entity worked on the SBS project.) Employees of the
three entities met approximately every 6 weeks to review and
critique the work done to date and to recommend changes to the
technical design.11 As part of this process, NTS personnel
conducted research and proposed solutions to design problems.
As part of the logical design phase, EDS technical personnel
met with Bank One and Norwest employees to learn about the banking
11 For example, Bank One and Norwest employees raised
concerns about whether DB2, a relational database system EDS
proposed using for SBS, could handle the volume of data the
parties projected would be run on the system. Ultimately, Bank
One and Norwest employees conceded that DB2 was appropriate when
EDS demonstrated its success in other high-volume environments.
Another concern raised by Bank One and Norwest employees
related to the use of so-called dummy terminals. EDS proposed
maintaining all data in a mainframe computer (which would perform
all data processing and run all applications) and placing
nonintelligent dummy computers at user stations (e.g., bank
teller windows and desks). The dummy computers could access the
mainframe's data and software applications through a special menu
screen but could not perform any processing functions on their
own. Bank One objected to this proposal primarily because it was
already using personal computers (PC's), which enabled its users
to access data from a host computer, to input new information
through software applications processed locally on the PC's, and
to ship the new data back to the host computer for updating.
(This is known as a client-server architecture.)
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