Mashups: The end of one-size-fits-all software
Mashups democratize the relationship between IT departments and end-users, says Mike Ogrinz, author of Mashup Patterns: Designs and Examples for the Modern Enterprise. For years, developers have been crying, "Separate your business logic from your presentation logic!" and yet who maintained both artifacts? The IT department. Mashups finally resolve this state of affairs and empower users to create solutions for themselves - a kind of usability nirvana.
This is part of a regular series that highlights new books and their authors. Also in this series: Nelson Ruest and Danielle Ruest with 5 Rules for virtualization success, Joel Scambray on exposing the hacker's advantage, and Scott Hogg on IPv6 security. (You can find all the installments in this series here.)
"Enterprise 2.0" is based on importing technologies that have been successful in the consumer space into the modern organization. The goal is to apply the advances inherent in "Web 2.0" to tangible business problems. At the forefront of this effort are Enterprise Mashups. Many of you will be familiar with mashups based on sites that show you nearby restaurants or cheap gas on a Google map. However, these simple examples barely hint at the potential business benefits. Using new mashup tools and platforms, enterprise software developers and - most importantly - business users can unlock a world of disparate resources and shape them into their own personal solutions.
What do you like best about mashups? Mashups democratize the relationship between IT departments and end-users. For years, developers have been crying, "Separate your business logic from your presentation logic!" and yet who maintained both artifacts? The IT department. Mashups finally resolve this state of affairs. The best shepherds of business needs and requirements are the business users themselves! As a strong proponent of user-friendly software, I think empowering users to create solutions for themselves is a kind of usability-nirvana.
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