Client-Server database
Most of the applications you found have the data engine on the same network client running the user's front-end. Since data are inside tables, which reside on the network server, each time we ask for a data, the data engine first brings big chuncks of the tables to our client and then it (looks) searches for the data we need. This industry solution was born for small LAN, and doesn't scale good, if (not) at all, on a WAN.

Step2™ hosts on the client only the presentation side
of the application and let the server (containing) contain
the table to (look) search for the data reducing at the
lowest level the network traffic.

Fat or Thin ?
We are not talking about your silhouette, but about one of the most debated issue of the IT industry.
A Thin-Client (e.g. an internet application) virtually reduces to zero maintenance expenses of the client's desktop but:

it needs for more servers or more powerful ones,just to build and manage the front-ends to send to the clients

it engages much more network bandwidth

the client's front-ends are more rough

most of the client's computational resources are wasted.

On the other hand a Fat-Client contains the whole data and validating business logic,
simplifying the devopment and maintenance tasks. But:


the application releasing to the clients is more frequent

database can be corrupted by client failings

network traffic, even though is less than the former solution, is still high.

Step2™ offers the best compromise of both technologies:

The client runs front-end's logic via a dedicated engine, while the server is in charge of running the data retrieve services and applying the business rules to the data.

network traffic is the lowest possible, and there isn't any
resource wasted on the client

The Step2™ multitier architecture allows a better load balancing between the processing resources on the network and makes the production and maintenance of whole the application more effective.

 The Step2™ deployment system immediately ships the new application realeases directly from the development team, without any intervention from the support staff.