You have a task to perform, for your employer (contract or otherwise), and you have a certain amount of tools to use. One of those options is Flash, another is Ajax/Java alternative (yeah there are more, just narrowing down – see later).

It all depends on what you’re doing. By your post it would appear that you’re looking to “sell” flash for an external access system, if so then just pray that you don’t have someone with IT background in the room that has a say in the process.

My own personal opinion? Don’t sell the technology, sell the concept of the technology. If you were pitching to anyone I’ve worked with in the past, they would kick you out of the board room for selling the technology over the project concept.

I recently saw Walmart retooled their website with OpenLaszlo.

What’s the alternative (page-based HTML, Ajax)? What’s the infrastructure (Java, .NET, PHP)? What’s the nature of the project (consumer-facing game, dashboard, back-office)? Is there actually an aversion to Flash? What’s the basis of that perception? Does the deployment model matter? Who’s the audience that’s receiving this information (management, other developers)?

I’d be happy to give you pointers and talk at more length – just drop me an email. After all, telling customers why Flash/Flex matters is what I get paid to do.

Regards,
Kevin