I know that some iteration of this question was asked already, but I think my case is a bit more specific. I have a product that customers use to retrieve files from my server, periodically by configuring a time, date, interval.

ATP, I have a java desktop app that is shipped to a customer, and clients have to install it and let it run on background. This app communicates with my backend, reason why it is done like that is, that customers want all files to be stored on their PC without any interaction (no cloud, no opening UI and letting it download, … just to suddenly appear).

My goal is to make this product as close to a typical backend service running on my server and just feed the data to customers as possible.

Best case scenario would be to get rid of any client-side application and any need for the client to set up in their environment. The question here would be, is there a way to achieve my goal.. to send files from server to client’s PC without their interaction?

If not, what would be the closest architecture to it?

ATP I’m interested in collecting opinions and ideas to make an overview and to put down some schema of infrastructure/architecture rather than code.

I was thinking about couple scenarios:

• To migrate all processes to a backend and then create a shared directory on client’s PC, that would be a bridge between server a client’s PC
• To migrate all processes to a backend and to have a ber minimal java app (that still needs to be shipped) which only purpose of which would be to just act as “portal” between server and client’s to be able to store to filesystem.

None of them are ideal (my best-case scenario) nor what I would wish for, but those are the best ideas I came up with so far.