SAP Wants Your Users to Create Enterprise Mashups

Just in case you didn’t want to take my word for it, I thought you might be interested in knowing that SAP agrees with me on the whole mashup thing.

How do I know this?

Well, I could just say “because they made Visual Composer“, but that might not be convincing enough.

Instead I’ll point at the SOA features they’re been adding to their ERP offering over the past 4 years. If you combine that with the Visual Composer tool and then look at Duet as rough example of how to use SAP services then I think you’ll agree with me — SAP really does like the idea of letting users create their own solutions.

Some people think that SAP has dropped the ball by chasing after SOA. I disagree. I personally think it makes them stronger in the ERP market. It just plain makes sense to expose your ERP logic as SOA services. SAP understands this and they have for quite some time.

Microsoft probably gets it too, however I haven’t heard them banging the SOA drum with their Dynamics offering.

But I digress. And before this starts to sound too much like an SAP commercial, let me reiterate my point — SAP agrees with me on the whole enterprise mashup thing.

TechnoratiTags: soa,enterprisemashups

5 Ways To Capitalize on Web 2.0 In Your SOA

There’s some heavy innovation happening in web application development these days. RSS, AJAX, and REST have taken off in a big way. There’s no reason this innovation can’t also live behind the firewall.

Here’s a few ways that you can capitalize on all the innovation on the web and do it behind your firewall:

1. Use REST when creating your SOA
2. Use AJAX and/or AFLAX to create your integrated applications
3. Have your enterprise services answer in RSS
4. Give end users enterprise mashup tools so they can solve their own problems.
5. Always keep in mind that SOA will outlast Web 2.0 technology

1. Use REST when creating your SOA

The REST architecture has more than proven its scalability. It also has the advantage of adding an element of vendor neutrality to your SOA. And if that’s not enough of a reason consider that fact that RESTs biggest contender is SOAP. SOAP is bloated and overly complicated. SOAP is a classic example of design by development tool company — it’s complicated and their tools make it easy.

REST is easy from the get-go and besides, it has a cooler acronym.

2. Use AJAX and AFLAX to create your integrated applications

AJAX and it’s cousin AFLAX are are nearly ubiquitous in the sense modern browsers support JavaScript and Flash.

3. Have your enterprise services answer in RSS

RSS is the lingua franca of web 2.0. It is generic enough to handle just about anything you want to throw at it. It is so widely used that you’ll have no trouble finding tools and libraries that support it. It will make your life easier.

It won’t walk your dog.

4. Give end users enterprise mashup tools so they can solve their own problems

Let your users solve their own problems. They understand their problems better than you do. They are becoming more and more tech savvy each day. Get out of the way and think of yourself as an enabler instead of a problem solver.

Give them enterprise mashup tools like JackBe, SAP Visual Composer, or IBM QEDWiki and let the games begin.

5. Always keep in mind that SOA will outlast Web 2.0 technology

Web 2.0 is hotter than barbecue on the 4th of July. It will stay hot for some time. However, it will eventually go the route of COBOL. That’s when you’ll be happy that you kept the future in mind and didn’t take any shortcuts based on myopic assumptions.

Remember, SOA will outlast Web 2.0 technology. Make sure you architect and design accordingly.

Further reading:
The SOA with reach: Web-Oriented Architecture

Technorati Tags: enterprisemashups, mashups, web2.0, enterprise, IT programming, EII, SOA, QEDWiki, YahooPipes, enterprise2.0

IT Must Stop Being the Problem Solver

I was recently approached to give an interview regarding Enterprise Mashups. The main thrust of my answers shows my thinking that capitalizing on Enterprise Mashups and SOA requires IT to undergo a fundamental shift in mindset. IT must stop solving problems and start enabling end users to solve the problems themselves.

Here are the questions along with my responses.

Could you give me a quick background for yourself? What’s your current job?

I currently work for Aera Energy, LLC. Aera is a large, privately held oil company located in California. I work as a Data Warehouse Development Lead and Web Technology consultant. I also do consulting work for other firms.

Disclaimer: The statements and opinions in this blog post are my own and do reflect the opinions or positions of Aera Energy, LLC or any other firm for which I do consulting work.

Have you been involved with mashups long?

I’ve been involved with web mashups for about 6 months. I have done other forms of web development (database backed web sites, document management systems, web email systems, etc) for 11 years.

What are the key concerns that make enterprise mashups unique?

Enterprises have struggled with disparate databases and disconnected applications ever since IT became a fundamental part of doing business. There have been many different ways to solve the problem like EAI, EII, Data Warehouses, CORBA, DCOM, web services, SOA, etc.

Enterprise Mashups are basically a new way of solving the old integration problem.

They are uniquely positioned in their ability to quickly solve the integration problem because they put the problem-solving power into the hands of the end user. The technology isn’t really the big enabler — the big enabler here is the fact that your average end user is becoming much more technology savvy.

This trend will only accelerate.

The employees of tomorrow will have grown up with the web and internet as a part of their daily lives. The next generation will be savvy enough to make their own applications. Many employees of the current generation are already doing it. IT must become more of an enabler than a solution provider. (I wrote about this in another blog post regarding programmers and enterprise mashups.)

Do you think that the new tools such as Yahoo Pipes and QEDwiki are going to be useful for end-users in an enterprise environment, or are they just going to make the IT guys’ life easier?

You can divide users of tools like Yahoo! Pipes and QEDWiki into three groups:

• end users
• power users
• developers

Yahoo! Pipes and QEDWiki are great tools for developers and power users. They are also simple enough that many people who currently fall into the group of end users may jump up to the level of power user. So, yes I think they will be useful for end users.

In terms of making the lives of IT guys easier, I actually think they’ll make life harder for IT developers. IT developers are going to have to shift their mindset from solution provider to solution enabler. They will have to design their systems as services to be consumed by other people. This is similar to the problem faced by software library developers in the past — it’s much harder to make a reusable system than it is to just make a standalone solution.

What sort of IT capacity should companies develop to ensure that can best utilize mash-ups in the near future?

IT needs to develop the solution-enabler mindset. Having that mindset is much more important than having a particular piece of hardware or software.

SOA goes hand-in-hand with Enterprise Mashups, so efforts to develop an SOA will be key to capitalizing on Enterprise Mashups.

I think the best way to get started is to look at the home grown solutions that currently exist in your enterprise. Many times these solutions will be complex Excel spreadsheets, advanced Access applications, or internal web sites. Talk to the people who maintain those applications. Figure out what problems they are solving and what technology and data hurdles they have to overcome. Those hurdles point to places where IT can become more of an enabler than a problem solver.

While you can obviously design an overarching architecture I think it would be a mistake to start that way. Your first attempt at SOA and Enterprise Mashups should be small. You’ll probably get it wrong the first time so the important thing is to get started, learn from your mistakes, and then make something great.

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Your SOA Doesn’t Have To Start Big

Your SOA doesn’t have to be all encompassing in order to be useful. You can start small. Just remember that the more services you make available the more useful applications your users will be able to compose. In a strict mathematical sense the number of possible applications increases exponentially in proportion to the number of services available.

That’s a good reason to get started now.

As you are reading this there are non-programmers (right now) composing new applications out of services available on the web. While the usefulness of some of these applications is questionable, the fact that thousands of new tools are being created is a staggering concept.

By building an SOA in your enterprise and giving end users the tools to create Enterprise Mashups you are creating a microcosm of web 2.0 within your own enterpise. That’s another good reason to get started now.

By starting small you also reduce risk. There’s a pretty good chance you’ll get it wrong on your first try. Learn on a smaller effort and apply those learnings on subsequent projects. It’s more important to start the process than it is to get it right the first time.

That’s a good reason to start small.

SOA is huge. Your company’s SOA will be big. But you can start small.

Technorati Tags: enterprise 2.0, web 2.0, soa, mashups, enterprisemashups

Let The Users Use Your Events

In his Outside the Box blog, Todd Biske writes about the (lack of) Uptake of Complex Event Processing. He points out several reasons for the lack of uptake — the primary reason being a shift in mindset that has not taken place in most businesses.

Todd goes on to suggest that organizations should start a CEP system just by publishing the events and collecting statistics about events. His suggestion is a very safe and risk-averse approach. It also a suggestion that I disagree with.

Don’t get me wrong, I agree that collecting statistics about your events is important. I don’t agree that just publishing events and then collecting statistics about those events is enough.

Why not publish the events and then throw a little fuel on the fire by letting power users create their own Enterprise Mashups using the events? Why not start creating analytical applications that integrate events, services, from your SOA, and data from your data warehouse? Why not get started using the events now?

Your users will get more value faster if you release services and events to them sooner.

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Create Mashups Using Social Networking Sites

Facebook and Friendster are opening up their APIs so third party developers can create new applications. Apparently MySpace, LinkedIn, and Google are expected to do the same but haven’t made any announcements.

I see this as noteworthy for a couple of reasons.

First, it allows the ever expanding world of mashups to take on a whole new direction. I can already see a truckload of new mashup that integrate the personal information these sites store with other applications (like maps).

Second, the resulting mashups will demonstrate the power of open APIs and SOA to IT departments. Even the most crusty, cranky, old-school IT manager won’t be able to keep his head in the sand when confronted with users who can compose applications as fast as programmers.

Social-Networking Sites Open Up

Technorati Tags: enterprise2.0, mashups, enterprisemashups, web2.0

Programmers Don’t Make the Best Mashups

Tech savvy end users make the best mashups. This is true whether the mashup is an Enterprise Mashup or a standard mashup.

Programmers are generally good at solving problems. Users are generally good at having problems. But putting a user and a programmer together often results in not solving a problem or solving the wrong problem. Communication just seems to get in the way.

That’s why tech savvy end users make the best mashups. The communication barrier is destroyed. The user doesn’t have to teach an IT geek about the problem. She is free to solve her own problem.

Many IT vendors understand this. The smart ones are creating tools that enable non-programmers to create mashups. These new solutions traditionally required programming skills but not anymore. Think Yahoo! Pipes, IBM QEDWiki, and SAP Visual Composer.

Many IT leaders also understand this. The smart ones are creating architectures and infrastructures that enable tech savvy end users to assemble solutions to their own problems. Think SOA, Web Services, and EII.

These leaders are bringing Web2.0 concepts behind the firewall. And it’s a win-win situation.

Technorati Tags: enterprisemashups, mashups, web2.0, enterprise, IT programming, EII, SOA, QEDWiki, YahooPipes, enterprise2.0