Web and Enterprise 2.0 - The New Technology Tsunami

…. or Integration-as-a-Service 

In the last few years or so I have seen more and more vendors entering the SaaS space.   I have also observed an increase in the number of data sources, both internal and external.

Today we can source services such as data extraction Transformation and Load from Informatica and possible from other companies. 

We also have available to us services for Integration-in-the-Cloud from the well establish ESB Platform, CapeClear.

September has been the month for interesting  announcements.  MuleSource announced that they will provide Integration Services on the cloud.  MuleOnDemand is set to compete with CapeClear’s On-Demand Integration (ODI) offering.  The point I would like to make is that organizations are getting more options for solutions that allow to move and manage data regardless of where it resides.  We should see these type of offerings becoming mainstream in the near future.

On the Enterprise Software arena, SAP announced SAP Business By Design (formerly known as AS1).  For small and midsize companies that can not afford the large ERP license and LONG implementation cycles.   This is starting to look like a good option for these companies, just like SalesForce did a few years ago.  This latest is built upon SAP’s NetWeaver service-oriented technology platform and its own database software MaxDB.  They will  price it at $149 per user per month with a minimum of 25 users.

What I want to point out with these announcements is that we are starting to see availability of solutions for what traditionally has been done in-house, inside the organization’s firewall.  This has got to change the game and also shows that even the big giant ERP vendors are taking steps to evolve into what seems to be turning into a Service Oriented World.

Now, let’s assume you are a CIO for a company and you are being pressured to deliver more with less and in a fraction of the time.  Does this sound familiar?  would you consider any of these services?  What is the business impact?

I think that an organization that adopts the SOA paradigm will be able to adapt easier to changing market conditions.  Such organization will have more options to source services and will be able to leverage what the Cloud will offer.