For the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to speak with hundreds of companies and organizations about Web 2.0 and Web applications.  Every company has plans to move many of their mission critical applications to the Web.  However, many companies do not have a web security plan in place to ensure these applications are free from exploits and hackers. 

One company, who has 200 Web servers and handles over a million transactions, only uses SSL for secure access.  We had a long conversation about other security strategies that included vulnerability management.  To my surprise, the company not only doesn’t use this type of solution, they hadn’t heard of the technology. 

With millions of people using the Web for banking, purchasing, selling and posting information, there is a substantial increase in network, database and Web application vulnerabilities.   In fact, Web 2.0 applications have 5 times more vulnerabilities then Microsoft products.  Companies need to research and implement vulnerability management solutions. 

There are many products on the market and even a few open solutions that can help companies detect and remediate vulnerabilities.  One of these companies is Rapid7.  Rapid7 provides a unified vulnerability management solutions for scanning networks, Web applications and databases.  This solution is perfect for companies who want and need to protect their complete network.  I had the opportunity to speak with customer of Rapid7 and found their product to be as promised. 

I came across a great article today about how large companies are moving to more of a one-to-one relationship with their customers.

P&G Primes Its Pinpoint Marketing

In the article, Elva Lewis explains how she will build 60 million relationships. This is a great example of how companies are changing their thinking regarding users and customers. What is interesting is how P&G plans to use multiple avenues to make customers feel like friends. They plan to use traditional marketing as well as new technologies to advance their strategies.

One thing that is clear from the article is that companies need to use relationship technologies such as online, web 2.0 and others to cost-effectively communicate with customers. By building new and enhanced websites, email, feedback and marketing solutions, companies such as P&G can be proactive and reach out to their customers.

Technology companies can learn a great lesson from this type of relationship building.

On a side note. I used the product box.net recently and was very impressed with the features and functions. Because I have a background in both applications and communications, I find it interesting whether large organizations will use this file sharing technology that resides outside the firewall. However, it was one of the easiest web applications to start using and the interface is clear. I started using it within my organization and I think that it is a great way to replace traditional file sharing techniques. The fact that I do not need a server and software to run this application, is fantastic. I remember spending months trying to purchase a server and then use Share-point to create this type of sharing. Not anymore.

In the past few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to meet with a few Web 2.0 start-ups that are not on anyone’s radar currently.  In fact, the further we move along, the more and more, I speak with companies of all sizes about Web 2.0.  I want to take a moment to restate some of the ideas that are extremely important about Web 2.0 and Enterprise Web 2.0. 

First and foremost, we are in the Generation of the User, or the “User Generation”.  This means that as companies build products and solutions, they need to think about what is important to their users from a technology as well as usability standpoint.  These users include consumers and employees.  I know this doesn’t sound new.  However, the second part of the equation is where many companies fail. 

Second, companies must use every technology to understand their customer’s needs wants and actions.  Web 2.0 is about getting in the minds of your users to deliver the best products before they realize they need them.  Sound complicated?   It’s not.  If companies choose the right applications, platforms and technologies, staying ahead of the user is simple.  It just takes thinking ahead and building customer feedback and monitoring systems. 

As I mentioned before, I spoke with a ton of small companies in the last few weeks.  Of these companies, there were browser, excel, and application vendors.  All of which, seemed like they needed/ wanted to capitalize on the Web 2.0 boom.  Of these companies, only a handful had any “real” sense of building solutions for users. 

At the top is a company called HomeGrader.com.  They provide customer feedback solutions for the real estate industry.  They have the right idea.  Get all the feedback in an easy to use manner so agents can create a better environment for their users.  So far, this company has thousands of users and claims to have most of the top sellers in the US. 

The top sellers are early innovators, and companies like HomeGrader can learn a lot form this market.  Especially in the “User Generation”

Addition – I had a great conversation with 18 -  20 year olds who had just entered the work force.  Their combined comment about their companies’ IT systems was unanimously negative.  

“I can do more with my home computer than my work’s laptop”  “I am extremely disappointed in my companies ability provide the best working environment”  and finally, “I’m not staying here too long”

Employees are users too

Does everyone believe wiki’s will remain a stand alone product?

One thing that is absolutely certain about technology is that new innovation always has three fates.  The first fate is when the technology solutions become a stand-alone solution for a long time.  Now, don’t call me insane, but I visited three customers in the past year that are using DEC equipment.  And, by the way, they are purchasing new/used DEC equipment as we speak.  If you don’t like DEC, then there are other examples such as Ethernet.

The second fate is when the technology holds on as a stand-alone solution for a few years.  There are many examples of this fate.  SSL for security, EAI for applications etc.  Some people may argue that these technologies are still available as stand-alone products.  However, customers want and companies are delivering SSL products with other security and access technologies.  Also, EAI products are now bundled with web services, SOA and BPM solutions.  The ongoing value of the original technology is based bundled solutions. 

The third and final fate is when technologies just don’t make it alone.  As with the second fate, the third fate has many examples.  Recently, technologies such as Symantec Metadata failed as a stand-alone solution.  However there is clear value in this technology bundled within other solutions for the enterprise and across the web.   

Portals

If you think back only a few years, you will remember a day when portals ruled the world.  They were going to be the end all of all enterprise application, WebSphere, Web Logic, Plumtree, and a host of many others.  The following is a section from Wikipedia

                “…many companies tried to build or acquire a portal, to have a piece of the Internet market. The Web portal gained special  attention because it was, for many users, the starting point of their Web browser.”

One of the major issues with these portals is the length and scope of development.  For example, a few years ago, I worked with a large mid-west enterprise to convince them that thin client portals where going to replace the major vendors.  The CIO told me that he had 15 people working on their portal project.  Fifteen people – working on a portal!

Portals Today

Stand-alone portals have befallen the second fate of technology.  They have become a part of other technologies and bundled as a solution.  Yes, there are some stand-alone portals but a majority of vendors will tell you (and analysts) that they are no longer in the portal market.  Even though they spent millions buying portal companies, they choose to use that technology as part of a bigger solution. 

Portals and Wiki’s

As with the portal, Wiki’s will begin to see their value diminished by companies, analysts and even vendors.  Need some evidence – take a look

• If Wiki’s were real, big application vendors would have bought one or made one
• Application vendors and EAI vendors will dominate through SOA and BPM
• Wiki’s are nothing more than a good web application that someday will be built on SOA technology using existing and legacy infrastructure and applications
• Wiki’s will be the “new” front end technology for SOA applications
• CIO’s will understand wiki’s right after they standardize on one data base provider – in other words – never 

In the end, Wiki’s will need the added value of other technologies to prove their importance and even their existence.  

To survive in the next five years, companies will need to understand, embrace, and implement enterprise web 2.0 technologies and solutions.  Today, employees, partners and customers expect more access to information and in an easy to use/ customizable format.  Companies need to consider what they do today to meet the needs of today and set the foundation for the future. 

If you step outside the vendor’s skin, you realize that enterprise customers need help determining what the most important applications are how to prioritize implementations.  To do this, it is important to understand that there are three categories of enterprise applications.  Although this may seem like a simplification, it provides a framework that companies can use to prioritize.    

Enterprise applications fall into three categories:

1. Persistent Applications
2. Continuous Web Applications
3. Synthesized Applications

Persistent Applications 

After working with multiple large and medium sized clients, it was clear that certain applications do not need to be changed.  Many of these applications consist of a fat client, so users can do most of the work locally and a server component for storage.  In the past, vendors have used the term legacy applications to describe this category.  The term “legacy” is no longer relevant.  Legacy means that it is old.  Many applications in this category are old and new.   Would you call Microsoft’s Publisher a legacy application?  No, but it is a persistent application in that, you may never change it.  Further, persistent applications are ones where a customer has made a decision to leave it unchanged.   

For instance, one large customer had a brand new CAD application.  The users never accessed the application outside of work and they would never consider logging in after hours.   This company wanted to switch to a web application or create services from the legacy.  After researching alternative options, they decided to leave this application alone. 

Note: Microsoft’s Outlook and Office may be considered the largest/ most used Persistent Applications.  Many companies may argue that other office and web mail companies are gaining market share.  However, the reality is that for now, Microsoft owns this space.   

Continuous Web Applications

As easy as Persistent Applications are to understand, Continuous web applications and synthesized applications are very hard to understand.  Just to make things more confusing, synthesized or SOA enabled applications can and usually are delivered as web applications.  So why do we need a distinction between the two?  The answer is simple and straight-forward, Continuous web applications are like monolithic and persistent application, only web apps are delivered over the web and through a browser.   

Web applications can be hosted on premise or by the application provider.  When the application is hosted and managed by the application provider it is called Software as a Service (SaaS).  In the minds of many vendors, the SaaS model is very different from the old Application Service Provider ASP model that failed as the bubble burst.  How the ASP model and SaaS model differ is for the vendors to explain. 

Note:  Continuous web applications can be delivered solely within the enterprise.  For instance many of the new wikis are just web applications.   

Another interesting side note:  I recently spoke with a wiki provider who would not let their employees work remotely and a remote access company that needed all their employees in one location.  These are the companies we rely on to drive enterprise web 2.0.   Whether wikis will survive in the long term or be replaced by Synthesized Applications such as SOA, BPM and Mash-ups, remains to be seen. 

Synthesized Applications

SOA is still confusing to many customers, users, business people and even many vendors.  Now, let me make even more confusing and then simple.  SOA applications can be delivered as web applications.  In fact, most SOA enabled applications are based on web applications.   

The major characteristic of this category is – using multiple inputs to create a single application.   These inputs can be many things including but not limited to services, processes, data structures, data, other applications,

So why choose “synthesized”?  Many vendors, customers and analysts use the term composite applications.  However, because of the over use of the term and the association with SOA applications it is important to create another category. 

Synthesized applications are much more than SOA.  Synthesized applications include enterprise application integration (EAI), business process management (BPM), Enterprise Service Bus (ESB), Service oriented architecture (SOA), and mash-ups.  Yes, mash-ups. 

Note:  “Synthesized Applications” is the only category that provides a foundation for companies to build a complete enterprise web 2.0 strategy.   

Application Framework

For many organizations, new technologies are those that were introduced three of four years ago.  For example, I spoke with a technology vendor that was implementing WLAN access to its executives.  That’s right, the executives…the next step was to certain employees and then, maybe, across the enterprise.  Can we expect customers and clients to embrace new technologies when vendors are struggling to stay ahead of the latest?   

The short answer is – yes.  Customers will embrace new ideas and technologies by creating a solid framework, building a foundation and managing changes.  As part of the overall “Enterprise Web 2.0 for the CIO” series, this blog provided the framework for companies understand and analyze how new applications will be built and/or bought and how legacy applications will be delivered. 

Time to vote on the next blog:

1. More on Enterprise Web 2.0 Applications
2. Next area of Enterprise Web 2.0 – Connectivity