Empowering E 2.0 Users with Enterprise App Stores

It’s exciting to see Enterprise 2.0 becoming more mature.  More Enterprise 2.0 vendors are focusing on standards and adopting Web 2.0 technologies.  This is actually very impressive when you think about Enterprise 2.0 was born in the Spring of 2006.  Andrew McAfee talks about the birth of E 2.0 in this article Enterprise 2.0 vs. SOA.  More Enterprise 2.0 solutions are also taking advantage of AJAX technologies to improve the user experience.  AJAX is a group of interrelated web development techniques used on the client-side to create interactive web applications.  We are also starting to see a trend for the use of Cloud Computing in the Enterprise.  Cloud Computing is proving itself as an approach to cutting IT costs while improving innovation.  You can read more about this in Dion Hinchcliffe’s article, “Enterprise cloud computing gathers steam“.  The big news for the Summer of 2010 in the world of Enterprise 2.0, is the release of Presto 3.0.  You can use Presto to empower people in the Enterprise with the ability to mix, match, and mash data into apps powering your own Enterprise App Store.

Power and Freedom through Enterprise Apps

The Presto Platform empowers application developers and power users to create, customize and share Enterprise Apps mashups for faster decisions and better business results. Presto provides a solution for every part of the Enterprise App lifecycle, from Services to Mashups to Apps to the App Store, while also meeting the toughest enterprise security and governance requirements. Equally important, Presto empowers your high-value employees to take advantage of your organization’s information assets – large applications like ERP, CRM, and SFA – and quickly marry them with external data sources such as Web services and news feeds to make better decisions from this disparate information.  [ Learn More ]

“The App store model that Apple has proved so successfully with the iPhone is becoming the next frontier when it comes to next-generation software distribution. And it’s one that creates clear value for both customers and companies alike.” ~Dion Hinchcliffe @dhinchcliffe

Fav Five Faces

Here are just a few new friends that have connected me to new people and new ideas this week.  You might be familiar with “Fantasy Football Teams” and such, well this is my “Fantasy Innovation Team” this week.  I bet we would see some very innovative solutions, if this team worked together.

Who would be on your Fantasy Innovation Team this week?

	Mobile platform strategist, consultant, trainer, writer, blogger, and speaker. Mobile browser compatibility expert. http://twitter.com/ppk
	Motivated, vivacious, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, chocolate-obsessed social media enthusiast, loving life as an editorial assistant at @mashable http://twitter.com/ericaswallow
	consultant and writer who helps firms and individuals with their blogs and other social media http://twitter.com/BillIves
	i think about how teams solve hard problems, coffee, chocolate and my kids. this annoys my husband. Gig: Dir, Prod Mktg.@OpenText for Social Workplace http://twitter.com/deb_lavoy
	Integrations: Atlassian, E2.0, Alfresco, Fed Search, SCRM, etc – Eng. svcs & resales. Experts only, to fuel business – customer focused for good journeys… http://twitter.com/ellenfeaheny

Fav Five Places

OpenAjax Hub 2.0 Interactive Dashboard

How OpenAjax Hub 2.0 Addresses the Security Challenges

The launch of Jive Widget Studio

Opera Widgets and Ajax: Connecting to multiple servers

ZK Enterprise Framework

Tags: Apps, Cloud Computing, Enterprise 2.0, Mashups, SOA

Thoughts on Enterprise 2.0 Architecture

The temperature in the Washington DC area has been reaching record highs and the nights are even hot.  Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is hot too, thanks to Enterprise 2.0.  An Enterprise Platform goes beyond Facebook behind the firewall.  The Twitter Platform demonstrates the value of mobile integration and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).  Enterprise Architecture is about more than SOA, SaaS, PaaS, or Cloud Computing.  Thankfully there are some very bright people sharing their ideas about Arechitecture for Enterprise 2.0.

New Enterprise 2.0 Architecture requires more than technology / information integration.  It’s about using technology to help accomplish business objectives.  We also see how using Social Media channels for external communications has tremendous value.  These communications go beyond announcements, by creating real value with dialog.

There are many ideas about the approach to Enterprise Architecture.  You can review some of these ideas at various working groups like TOGAF, OpenEAI, and many others.  The main goal of these groups and most developers is leveraging the Standards to improve interoperability.

Enterprise 2.0 Gives CPR to SOA

Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) has been around for a long time, but Enterprise 2.0 has given a new breath of life to SOA.  The concept of SOA is hot because the idea of integrating multiple systems and exposing them as services adds value to existing infrastructure investments.  However, the process is complex for systems designed without SOA in mind.  You can easily see how the values of SOA align with the Enterprise.  You can also see the SOA Guiding Principles in the SOA Manifesto.

• Business value over technical strategy
• Strategic goals over project-specific benefits
• Intrinsic interoperability over custom integration
• Shared services over specific-purpose implementations
• Flexibility over optimization
• Evolutionary refinement over pursuit of initial perfection

Web Oriented Architecture (WOA)

Web Oriented Architecture (WOA) is a simple approach for identifying resources to be shared in a secure manner across multiple environments to support interoperability.  New Enterprise Architecture has finally moved beyond copying features of established Social Networking Platforms.  A new trend has emerged which takes a deeper look at WHY these platforms are successful.  Asking WHY, lead to discovering the expotential value of Web Oriented Architecture (WOA).  This approach is cool because its taking us back to the basic architecture of the World Wide Web and supports the concept of “Linked Data”.  You can see the “Linked Data” Gov 2.0 Expo video by the inventor of the WWW for more information.

web-oriented-architecture-WOA

The Four Core Values of Agile Development

We also see how WOA brings us closer to the values of Agile Development.  These values are very similar to the core values of the future enterprise.  You can review the Manifesto for Agile Software Development here.

• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Working software over comprehensive documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan

Cloud Computing and Enterprise 2.0

Beyond a “Birds Eye” View

Real Enterprise 2.0 is about using technology to improve collaboration and communication.  This collaboration and communication includes people internal and external to the organization.  These are people in your organization, business partners, customers, and people willing to contribute value to help you achieve your business goals.  The future Enterprise will place more value on it’s culture and we will see a vast improvement in products & services based on these improved collaborative efforts.  Communication will become more fluid as technology and user interfaces improve business interaction.  Organizations will continue to have a need to formulate and filter ideas and communication in safe, secure ways.  Successful future businesses will have more Complete Enterprise Solutions.  These solutions will include centralized management of distributed channels.

Cloud Computing and Enterprise 2.0

Connecting the Dots

How Enterprise 2.0, Cloud Computing, and something known as Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) have converged on top of the same “problem space” to become the essential fabric for how we solve the business problems in our organizations. by Dion Hinchcliffe

Happy Fav Five Faces Friday!

Five Faces You Should Know

Enterprise Architecture is easier when other people help you understand it’s value.  Here are five people you should get to know.

Dion Hinchcliffe: Internationally recognized business strategist, enterprise architect, keynote speaker, author, blogger, and consultant on Web 2.0, SOA, and next-gen business.

John Crupi is the CTO of JackBe Corporation. As CTO he is entrusted with understanding market forces and business drivers to drive JackBe’s technical vision and strategy. He has 20 years experience in OO and enterprise distributed computing.  NOTE: You should also take a look at The Enterprise App Store.

Mark Fidelman is the next generation enterprise executive. He currently works at MindTouch and blogs about Enterprise 2.0, Social Documentation and more.

Eugene Lee is the Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors at Socialtext.  Lee came to Socialtext from Adobe Systems, where he led Adobe’s enterprise marketing and vertical market segments.

Tom Graves His main field is ‘enterprise architecture’, but with an emphasis on strategy and futures, on complexity and sense-making, and on integrating IT with the rest of the business.

You can find more information about Enterprise Architecture by using this hash tag #entarch on Twitter.

It was very difficult limiting this list to only five people that know about using the Standards in Enteprise 2.0.  Do you know other brillant people that I missed?

Tags: Architecture, Cloud Computing, Enterprise 2.0, Mashups

The Future of the Enterprise

Putting the Enterprise 2.0 Budget on a Diet

The future of Enterprise 2.0 looks brighter every day.  Organizations are identifying adoption patterns and putting them into practice.  The web is filled with stories on how organizations and governments have used a Web 2.0 Strategy to improve collaboration and communication.  We are also seeing a healthy trend of more interest in Business Intelligence (BI) Apps.  There are many Business Intelligence apps available for the Apple iPhone and more are coming to the Apple iPad.  It would be nice to see this trend continue by organizations putting their Enterprise Platforms on a diet.  This healthy diet should consist of a healthy balance of Web Services, Software as a Service (SaaS), APIs, Apps, Mashups, and a more flexible architecture.  Exercising Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) in Enterprise 2.0 Solutions can lead the way towards “Self-Serving Solutions” aka “The Enterprise App Store”.

Which do you think would be easier and more cost effective?

• Buying new hardware/software and creating the new solution?
• Creating an app that can be dropped into your existing platform(s)/device(s)?

Creating the Thought Factory

Organizations have many options when making decisions across multiple points of their Enterprise 2.0 Solution.  I think it’s about time we stop “Reinventing the wheel”.  It’s time we stop reinventing the car of knowledge management and business intelligence.  It’s time to start creating the factory of thought with machines of intelligence that can be measured and configured to deliver fluid collaboration and communication.  It’s time for Enterprise Apps.

We already see examples of Business Intelligence Apps for the new Apple iPad.

iPad in Business

Featuring built-in support for Microsoft Exchange, secure access to corporate data, and a powerful platform for apps, iPad is ready for work, right out of the box.  Learn more here.

Top 10 Enterprise Apps for the Apple iPad

Roambi – Visualizer

Roambi’s cutting edge mobile dashboards let you touch, turn, analyze and share your company’s latest information on any iPhone or iPad – keeping you connected to your business, anytime and anywhere.  Learn more here.

QlikView

QlikView Business Intelligence software allows you to quickly and easily get answers to business questions.  Learn more here.

GoToMeeting

GoToMeeting is the easiest and most convenient way to attend online meetings – and now you can take it to go! Download the free app and join a meeting on your iPad in seconds just by tapping the link in your invitation email.  Learn more here.

WebEx for iPad

Attend WebEx meetings on your iPad, wherever you are! Use this application to get the full meeting experience with simultaneous data and audio. Don’t just listen in to a meeting. Join in.  Learn more here.

Keynote

Keynote is the most powerful presentation app ever designed for a mobile device. It’s the application you know and love on the Mac, but completely reworked from the ground up for iPad. It makes creating a world-class presentation, complete with animated charts and transitions, as simple as touching and tapping.  Learn more here.

Penultimate

The ultimate app for iPad. Stylish, powerful, and easy to use, Penultimate encourages you to take notes, keep sketches, or work through your next breakthrough idea– whether you’re in the office, on the go, or home on the couch.  Learn more here.

Numbers

Numbers is the most innovative spreadsheet app ever designed for a mobile device. It’s the application you know and love for the Mac, completely reworked from the ground up for iPad.  Learn more here.

Bento for iPad

Organize all the details of your busy life in one iPad app! Bento for iPad comes with 25 ready-to-use database templates that can be easily customized to organize virtually any type of information you have. Manage contacts, track projects, plan events and so much more.  Learn more here.

Box.net

Box.net is a web-based service that lets you easily share, manage and access all your content from anywhere. Whether you want to store documents, media or other files, Box.net lets you view, share and collaborate on all your files on-the-go.  Learn more here.

popplet lite

Popplet is a place where you can post, collect and curate your best ideas and random stuff all in one continuous visual space.  Learn more here.

Tags: apple, Apps, Enterprise 2.0, iPad, Mashups, SOA