Smart Client

Last Updated: May 20, 2014

Definition - What does Smart Client mean?

A smart client is a type of application environment connected to the Internet that allows server-based operations through the HTTP connection model. Smart client is a way to describe enhanced features and client applications as these types of IT systems evolve. Some developers describe the smart client as a next-generation set of systems that evolved from a rich client environment, where two-tiered setups allowed multiple users to get network information.

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Techopedia explains Smart Client

In general, the word 'client’ is used in IT to refer to hardware or software that accesses server services. The server coordinates these services and the external systems are their clients.

One aspect of this involves detailing the rise of the Internet and the use of browsers to offer client services directly through websites.

However, smart client applications evolved beyond this in order to provide security for these services, and to streamline the offering of services to individual users or clients. In addition, the types of client devices used also proliferated.

Where most clients of the 1990s were desktop or laptop computers, new client devices include different kinds of mobile devices or smartphones. In addition, smart client services share various characteristics, including the use of local resources, a more always-on connection model and better features for updates or upgrades.