Web 2.0 and Business Intelligence
I have recently came across an article entitled “Web 2.0 and Business Intelligence – How Do They Fit Together? Part1” by Mike Ferguson. The article has four parts. What intrigues me in these kinds of articles is how Web 2.0 means Rich Internet Applications (or social networking?) but only focuses on those which run in a web “browser”. Noticed the emphasis on “browser”? The technology or should I say methodology is not called Web Browser 2.0, is it?
The point I am trying to make here is that, Web 2.0 or whatever the marketing jargon, is not restricted solely to application developed for the web using scripting languages such as PHP/Ruby/AJAX/Flex or any other scripting languages and mashups. The fact that desktop applications have been delivering Rich Client Application, for many years through networked computers, shall they be classed as Web 2.0 or Desktop 2.0?
I am from a programming background and I still heavily code in JAVA and some of the “Web 2.0″ scripting languages. Taking JAVA as an example, applets for many years have been providing Rich Internet Application without the beauty of the interface. But since the introduction of the JAVA Web Start technology, JAVA developers had the ability to develop Rich Internet Application that pops out of the browser and run on the client desktop. I can hear some of you saying how ugly “JAVA UI” is, but that was many years ago as you can see here.
We, at ETAPIX Global, develop our Business Intelligence applications using JAVA 2 Standard Edition (and other technologies). Desktop applications are not the same as websites therefore demanding a different approach to development. The user experience is greater, I am not going to get into the technical bits here but can anybody actually prove me wrong. What about availability? It was true that because of being a desktop application, the user had to sit in front of the PC where the application is actually installed (but in enterprise, application can be delivered through other means). But, times have changed and with JAVA Web Start, users can now access desktop application from a web browser from anywhere at any time. By the way, JAVA Web Start is not new!!!
Mind you that I am not talking about JAVAFX. JAVAFX is another “Web 2.0″ scripting language with a twist. Sun says it is geared toward designers but I am not entirely convinced. I have been using JAVAFX for a couple of months and find it quiet intimidating for designers. You cannot currently do great things but animations and create video players. If you want to use the true power of JAVAFX, one has to be a JAVA developer period! The possibility of embedding SWING applications in JAVAFX makes it a great tool for us avid developers. But what will be the point to that when we can do the same in full SWING and deploy through JAVA Web Start. Oh Sun, you guys would have to do much more in order to attract people to that technology because as it stands, I do not see it competing with Adobe and the rest. First of all, you will have to provide a better IDE, just take a look at FLASH\ Flex or Microsoft IDE.
Back to the point of “Web 2.0″ and Business Intelligence, the web is a technology and platform. You do not need to develop applications for web browser to be part of that category. Business Intelligence applications can be develop for desktop as well as for mobile as we proved it with our eGlobal Intelligence product.
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