Steven,
If all application that sheres data are writen in VFP I would preffer OPEN DATA instead of SPT. But thats only my oppinion. Its easier to handle the data with native VFP. Each cursors are refreshing immidiately w/o any additional code. But if You plan to move to SQL Server the SPT is better, because You don't need to reorganize all applications. Just change connection sting & voila :o))
I never tested which method (ODBC or Native) is faster.