Providing Access to External Databases - High-Performance Web Databases: Design, Development, and Deployment - page 490

$1000,providing ten employees with individual CD-ROM readers and indi-
vidual subscriptions to the database runs $7000 for the first year and $3000
for subsequent years. In comparison, the use of a CD-ROM reader on a net-
work costs $2000 for the first year and $1000 for subsequent years.
Both of these access techniques require a LAN, though neither by itself
usually justifies the cost establishing a network. They can, however, be
used with other organizational requirements, such as sending electronic
mail and sharing files, to justify the establishment of a network.
RECOMMENDED COURSE OF ACTION
The database manager must consider many factors in developing a cost-
effective strategy for providing employees access to external databases.
First, the manager must determine employee requirements and alternative
database providers. Using this information, the manager must consider dif-
ferent database access methods, matching each method against the fre-
quency of database update that the employee requires. Once one or more
access methods are identified, the manager should consider the cost associ-
ated with each access method. The database manager should conduct this
study with the network administrator because the use of an existing LAN can
considerably reduce the cost associated with using the switched telephone
network or sharing access to a database stored on a CD-ROM disk.