What's Next in Tech
Office 2.0 conference,
originally uploaded by srm_nj.
I’m experimenting with flickr. Here is the button for the Office 2.0 conference. What’s neat about this conference is the grassroots effort that is behind its organizing, collaborating, and showcasing.
Let’s see what happens when I hit “post entry…”
Thank you Jerry Bowles, who thanked Andrew McAfee, and Ross Mayfield for his heroic efforts (adding props from me on behalf of all outsiders looking in)– the confederacy of brainiacs at Wikipedia have deemed Enterprise 2.0 worthy of definition and have not deleted it in its last dash, near-fatal round of scrutiny.
Others who should be commended for taking up the lightsaber* on pursuit of the revolutionary battle include: Vinnie Mirchandani, Ismael Ghalimi, Jeff Nolan, Dion Hinchcliffe, Jason Wood, Rod Boothby, Dave Tebbutt, and anyone else I missed who spent long hours debating what should be in/out of the definition.
*sorry, I know it’s bad form to mix trekkies and star wars fans, but remember, we’re fighting for freedom for all geeks and wannabe geeks. 🙂
I had a great briefing this week with IBM’s Dan Gisolfi of its Emerging Technology Group. I was able to clear up a few things. For starters, it’s not THAT easy to create a “long tail” micro situational app. Gisolfi says, “Today, it’s extremely hard unless you’re a programmer… and unless you know Ajax, Java script, and programming languages, you’re not going to create a mash-up.” But that’s where this IBM group is headed. With their web 2.0 class of tools– mash-up makers– ultimately, the high IQ guys and gals in IBM’s key installed base accounts will be able to create their own dashboards ad hoc and provision data across departments and groups without troubling anyone from IT at all.
Gisolfi and I waxed philosophically about the cultural trends that are driving Enterprise 2.0 and we agreed about the socio-cultural underpinnings. Now here is a guy who can fit squarely in both camps– traditional IT, wearing the IBM logo, yet can hold a respectable conversation on the latest in open source, or any web 2.0 technology. We agreed the new Enterprise 2.0 wave is not about technology. The technology is evolutionary and Gisolfi recounted many examples of initiatives IBM has been involved in for years that are now hyped as web 2.0. What’s different now, however, are the attitudes that eclipse the technology. He said, “Web 2.0 is a convergence of enablers… coming together at the right time, at the same time.”
We then talked about a possible rebirth of the systems integration industry– something I found intriguing. Gisolfi said, “For the IT guys, we’re not taking away work, we’re creating a new type of work. Instead of doing integration of monolithic applications, today, you’re going to create granular software components.” He used Sarbanes-Oxley as the perfect example of the need for a customized, daily mashboard. He described using a business analyst or consultant to define the data indicators and then pass it to a software guru to render it and provision it as a mashboard.
It’s at this point, I started thinking about the sweet-margin business of the late 80s: systems integration. I checked in with Graham Kemp, who tracked the SI market in those days. Graham said, “In the late 80s, SI margins were good… in the high teens… and FM (facilities management [outsourcing]) margins were fair (low teens). As the 90s came in, both dropped.”
On EDS’ Next Big Thing blog a few days ago, I read with some interest a post resurrecting the “I” word:
For a long time, the Fellows have been talking about the movement away from the Chief Information Officer to the Chief Integration Officer. The integration of process and information flow between and across the enterprise to enable greater flexibility is where all organizations need to be headed.
And as I just wrote recently to the head of analyst relations at CSC, before all outsourcers were called outsourcers, they were systems integrators. It might be time to ditch the losing battle in the ITO market, and start putting up recruiting booths on MySpace. There may be high margin opportunity introducing the Global 2000 to Enterprise 2.0.
I knew these worlds would collide (the Interactive Agency market and Enterprise 2.0). Shiv Singh at the Enterprise Solutions practice at Avenue A | Razorfish published this primer yesterday explaining Web 2.0 for the Enterprise. It’s a cultural tectonic plate shift taking place.
His summary spells out my argument:
Web 2.0 (its technology and values) is here to stay. The web is not about publishing content and making it available to employees, partners, and customers. That was Web 1.0. This time it’s about letting those customers, partners, and employees take control of the online experience.
I love the fact he paired technology and values. I would lead with values. Values are what drive revolutions; the techology is an enabler.
On my pestering list on the hunt for “proof cases” has also been JackBe. By now, I’m sure Mike Wagner wishes he never commented on my blog. This little firm here on the East Coast, however, has some rock’n blue chip, international customers. I’ve been doggin’ Wagner for case studies, and he’s been patiently telling me they were about to launch a new web site with “new Enterprise 2.0 positioning.” If you want a good explanation for why IT and non-IT folks should be interested in Enterprise tools, read this white paper on Ajax from JackBe.
The new site launched yesterday. What I really liked was the initiative the company took to coin a new acronym, “REA.” It stands for Rich Enterprise Applications. Read for yourself what it’s all about.
I’m trying to wrap my head around this, but it appears JackBe has the secret sauce to unite SOA with Ajax. Read this excellent article written by Deepak Alur JackBe’s VP of Engineering published this week for a better explanation. All I know for sure is JackBe “already counts among its satisfied clients more than 30 industry leaders worldwide supporting more than 4 million end users. Customers include Forbes, Citigroup, McKesson, Tupperware, Sears and Banamex. The company’s deployments and deep expertise span the financial services, government, e-commerce and telecommunications sectors” according to its bio line, and that’s pretty impressive to me for a company exclusively focused on the Enterprise 2.0 sector.
I listened in today on NetSuite’s hosted Enterprise 2.0 and the Software Industry webinar featuring SandHill.com’s M.R. Rangaswami. I was amazed by some of the statistics in the presentation, but remember, I’m new to some of this stuff by five years. For instance, M.R. said Sandhill had done some research and is reporting that 90% of all software firms are now using offshoring for some element of their development. I also was surprised to hear that 80% of a CIO’s IT budget is already committed to maintenance before the year even begins… the point being a mere 20% is left for innovation. He also said Sandhill had counted over 500 Web 2.0 companies, but was quick to point out that, “None of these companies know how to make money.”
NetSuite, a SaaS app, and whose product looked very impressive, btw, said the webinar would be available on their site.
This issue about the IT budget is one where I’m not sure everyone is on the same Enterprise 2.0 page. A few days ago I was pestering poor, old Gary Fernandes (who is really neither) about this point. Gary used to trot out this slide back in the old days while I was covering EDS. It showed how, on average, the IT budget was a mere 10% of the operating budget of most corporations. As Gary was EDS’ Chairman of A.T. Kearney, and the BPO market was just beginning in those days, he was always interested in how EDS could get its hands on the other 90%. Enterprise 2.0 is Gary’s dream come true. The big opportunity here for tech companies is not with the IT budget gestapo, it’s selling directly to the lines of business that can produce real returns on small investments.
I tried to make this point to Vinnie Mirchandani today, who knows better. I know there will be a lot of push back on this issue. And, I’m a lover, not a fighter, but hey– it is a revolution whether you’re the revolutionary type or not.