IBM's enterprise mashup uses web services for new apps

location based services

The technologies underpinning blogs, wikis and innovative sites like Google Maps and Wikipedia will transform the way productivity applications are developed, according to Rod Smith, IBM vice president of emerging internet technologies.It has the potential to put in-house corporate developers in more control by inventing on-the-spot applications - in some cases in just five minutes - to solve immediate business challenges, Smith said in a speech to technology executives at the PHP conference in New York City on Thursday.IBM's new Enterprise Mashup uses web services such as news feeds, weather reports, maps, traffic conditions and wiki technology to allow people to create a customised business applications in less than five minutes.
Rapid adoption of Web 2.0 components available free on the internet is allowing clients to experiment by marrying combinations of online services with existing data and information from inside their businesses."The embrace of open standards and Web 2.0 technologies is forcing businesses to rethink the paradigm of the proprietary, one-size-fits-all productivity application," Smith said. "Customers I talk to are abuzz about Web 2.0 and the creation of popular internet services that seem to quickly appear out of nowhere, becoming instant global phenomena that are enjoyed by the masses - including their employees. They want to apply that new paradigm to make their businesses act faster and grab new opportunities. There's no going back." Smith said all middleware vendors will have mashup makers in their product portfolio within a few years, and he credited social networking sites for creating mashups. IBM demonstrated its Enterprise Mashup technology, using resources like Ajax and instant messaging, with the National Association of Broadcasters. They linked sound crews, digital film crews, special effects experts and editors into one application for tracking progress, aligning staff, managing budgets and updating content.Big Blue is developing mashups for a home improvement store that allows a logistic manager to drag and drop weather reports, maps and hardware inventory data into a mashup that shows which stores will need rock salt, shovels and snow blowers.The Enterprise Mashup can also allow a stockbroker to drop a list of client names into the wiki-based Mashup maker and get a view of their interest areas with links to topical blogs, wikis and relevant news feeds. The dashboard shows which client interests overlap with other contacts in your address book, which allows expansion of professional networks and other insights.IBM will make Enterprise Mashups available through its business representatives for selected customer and through its AlphaWorks Services website.