Web 2.0 in the Enterprise

A very nice article on Web 2.0 by Arpan Shah's Blog

Quote:
Web 2.0 is a popular term used to describe a number of web applications on the Internet. Terms like Enterprise 2.0 and Office 2.0 have also made their way into mainstream Tech vernacular. As a Technical Decision Maker, as an Architect, as a Business Decision Maker - what does Web 2.0 mean to you?

I've had a number of conversations with technologists, analysts and product managers over the last few months to really understand what Web 2.0 for the Enterprise means to them. To sum up what I think Web 2.0 means for the Enterprise: it's all about turning users into participants allowing them to easily create, share and connect with information, applications and people. That's it.

Web 2.0 generally refers to the notion of rich browser applications that are developed using technologies like AJAX. But not all rich browser applications are Web 2.0 and Web 2.0 isn't just about AJAX/technology. Technology is an enabler... nothing more; nothing less. Having said that, as a Technical Decision Maker, you must think about how your organization can allow its users to very easily and efficiently create the applications they want. This means having an agile platform capable of hosting a variety of applications.

So why do people make a big deal about AJAX, XML, Services and why should you care?

AJAX - Stands for Asynchronous Javascript and XML. This is not a new concept. In fact, Microsoft was one of the first pioneers here with Outlook Web Access 2000. AJAX leads to a smooth, immersive experience... almost client-like... reducing the amount of browser post-backs. AJAX is becoming an increasingly popular development technique on the Internet because of broadband ubiquity.. so the footprint of web applications no longer has to be a couple KB. Having rich, browser accessible applications in your Enterprise is a good thing... this allows for easy access to applications and services from anywhere.

XML - There's been an industry buzz around XML for years. XML allows systems to interact with one another seamlessly. As technologies, this is important to consider when making investments in different technologies. Beyond serving as a common way to communicate, XML also had some other great benefits that include the separation of data and presentation allowing content to be easily syndicated and used in different ways. A very common example of this today is RSS.

Services - A services-oriented architecture is important for Enterprises to gain maximum value of the investments, adoption and usage. Mash-ups are examples of how applications can quickly take advantage of services to create a rich application. In the Enterprise, a close parallel to mash-ups are composite applications.


more ...

http://blogs.msdn.com/arpans/archive/2006/10/01/780380.aspx