The run to provide a mash-up tool or a programming platform for the non-techi’s is gathering pace. At the same company’s such as Worklight partner to create a larger offer, while Zude promises to provide it all. Here is a short list of some of these technologies:
Programming for the masses
For managers/business people who know what they want but have little or no programming skills, and want the job done fast. And for the masses with little/no programming skills (people like me) we have company’s such as Tersus . Tersus is an open source platform for visually creating applications (truly visual, no coding needed). The company is currently building its own new web site based on the Tersus platform, also to be released as open source.
Coghead is also a visual platform for creating web applications. Their product is part of a bigger vision to be part of an agile office, of the kind that can easily be created at the coffee house near you, or in your preferred location. This makes sense when you consider consumer generated app’s that are making their way into organizations with the promise to change organizations, and with it the way people can choose to work and make business — why then not create small applications on the fly?
Small-medium size business could also be good candidates for such platforms. They can easily and cheaply create the app’s they need and later maybe even make a few buck’s by selling the app they’ve created on a Coghead or Tersus like site, or even better, open source them and release them for free to get others, to use, maintain or further develop the application.
Tools for organizations joining the big feast
And than there are the many new mash-up companies who offer to democratize the mash-up experience for the masses. Teqlo for one, which allows to build web app’s with its drag and drop interface, has recently partnered with an Israeli company named Worklight.
Worklight allows organizations to export their SAP information as a secure feed service over their Myspace or other site/service their using, and will probably be offering many new features (apart from a secure feed for inside organization info and a mash-up tool) some time in the near future as part of the tendency to offer a complete service.
Something to keep an eye on is, how do you provide a bundled service with many features, without making it too constraining for the individual user and especially the individual worker? If I understand correctly Web 2.0 for the organization is about lightweight tools that provide the worker with greater freedoms to do the job the way he does it best.
Mine not their’s
And to complete the picture, there are the new portals (not so new any more), such as pageflakes that have to my view redefined the term portal, just by changing the term “our” portal to “my” portal, generating a really convenient service that allows to find the many services I’m using in one focal point.
More on the future – the Zude way
And finally there is Zude (final just for now) which is still not available, and until it becomes available David Berlind from ZDNet, who has tried it and wrote about it extensively is a point of reference. Zude offers all in one — a personal portal, a mash-up tool and agile way for creating small web app’s, it will be offered for free. For more information read or hear David Berlind.
Techbowl 