Compare deployment options and use cases for Nutrient document solutions

When integrated with Nutrient Web SDK, Document Engine facilitates backend-powered PDF viewing and editing for client-side applications. This includes a full-featured document editing UI, PDF streaming for incremental viewing, and support for hybrid mode, where processing alternates between client-side (browser) and server-side (Document Engine).

Hybrid mode currently supports features such as the Content Editor component, which loads documents from Document Engine, processes them client-side in the Web SDK, and then updates the document back in the server. This mode requires Document Engine with storage, utilizing client components licensed for specific features (e.g. annotations).

Licensing can mix and match client and server components, allowing for flexibility in feature access. In this case, Document Engine is deployed similar to headless Document Engine, but with a different license to enable client-side integrations.

Use cases

Ideal for scenarios requiring a client-side interface to interact with documents, along with any of the following:

• More lightweight end user application through offloading the operations from the browser to the backend.

• Superior performance in document rendering, lightening the load on end user machines, especially when dealing with large-sized PDF documents (50+ pages, containing numerous images, etc.).

• For performance reasons, required if documents are larger than 200 MB in size, but should be considered for documents larger than 50 MB.

• Real-time collaboration on documents or any other workflow that requires multiple users working on the same document, in real time or not.

• A blend of UI and document processing, as outlined for headless Document Engine.

• Requirement not to store documents locally or in the browser (document is stored on the server).

Examples

• A government agency aims to provide its employees with the capability to view and work with documents and reports exceeding 300 pages. It focuses on eliminating slow opening times and sluggish rendering of these large documents in the browser.

• A medical clinic that requires the ability to annotate image-heavy patient scans directly within its proprietary app. After completing the annotations, these scans need to be converted into PDFs without the need to switch applications.

• An educational institution, which distributes digital documents (including some large, image-heavy PDFs) among staff and students lacking powerful laptops, aims to expedite its operations. Additionally, it seeks to streamline certain document-related processes, such as automatically prepopulating teachers’ and students’ names on tests and reports.

Deployment

1. Self-hosted: For organizations with in-house infrastructure design and operations capabilities.

   • We provide a recommended setup example (as if we were setting this up ourselves) for clients to follow in their infrastructure.

   • Private, self-hosted infrastructure. Clients have full control over the infrastructure to meet compliance requirements.

   • Highly scalable. Suitable for processing documents in batches.

   • For all business sizes.

2. Managed (Nutrient): For those seeking infrastructure simplicity; Nutrient handles deploying and operating in the cloud.

   • Managed Document Engine eliminates the need for clients to set up and manage their own infrastructure.

   • Service offered to manage infrastructure using various public cloud providers.

   • Clients maintain ownership of their cloud instance license in public clouds, ensuring exclusive use.

3. Web SDK + Document Engine: For organizations seeking the flexibility of switching between client-side and server-side support.

   • Hosted on our infrastructure or their infrastructure.

   • Client-side user interface.

   • Significantly reduced client-side processing load. When integrated with Nutrient Web SDK, it allows client applications to offload heavier operations that come from PDF viewing and editing.

   • Run Document Engine from the backend of the client’s application to automate processes or as a backend for the Web SDK.

   • Real-time collaboration on documents for Web and mobile SDKs.

4. Document Web Services (DWS) API: For software builders in need of headless document processing with minimal operational overhead.

Capability comparison

Component comparison