Fusion ECM

I've posted on web 2.0 and enterprise 2.0 before here and here.  But some recent conversations with others have got the thought cogs spinning again.  These are just thoughts and very fluid at the present but this meandering stream is interesting to explore if nothing else.

It would seem that as organizations move into the "web 2.0" framework for business (aka Enterprise 2.0) some very big philosophical bifurcations occur.  One such branching is the de-emphasis of "web-as-primary-focus" in the Enterprise 2.0 framework in favor of a "doing business richly" focus.  This is not a deficiency of web 2.0.  Web 2.0 contemplates only what it does.  Enterprise 2.0 starts with the concepts of web 2.0 then expands (or shrinks) each of them to fit the organization and business model. 

While rich user experiences stay as a focus, the Enterprise 2.0 framework seems to be much more concerned with rich applications which may or may not be web sites.  Service Oriented Architecture combined with ECM combined with a rich set of FMW capabilities and enabling technology combined with legacy enterprise applications and infrastructure gives rise to truly composite applications - these are the Enterprise Mashups: mashups that go beyond maps and my favorite bars.

Aside on Standards: it should be noted that a standards-based approach to bringing disparate systems together in an Enterprise 2.0 framework has a LOT going for it since basic and common interaction and sharing is the conceptual foundation upon which composite applications will be built.  I hope this establishes (for good) that I am not personally against standards as such.  However, enterprise 2.0 endeavors will *fail* if the inter- and intra-application interactions, features and capabilities enabled therein stop where standards stop defining. </aside>

This is where the beauty and persuasive nature of the Oracle Unified/Universal Architecture really shines.  Don't bother endlessly re-creating business rules and users and content in system after system after system.  With Oracle's Unified/Universal Architecture that incorporates database,  ECM for content storage and management, SOA Suite for connections, BPEL for disparate application and process orchestration, SES for comprehensive indexing, WebCenter for front-ending the entire thing you create rules and interactions once and leverage them across the entire organization.

In Web Content Management deals we often talk about create content once and re-purpose many times in many ways.  Enterprise 2.0 should be about doing the same thing with business rules, authorization/authentication/identity systems, content management, search and indexing, application integration etc - all while providing the rich user experience that web 2.0 is all about.

Anyway, those are some thoughts. FWIW

Bex gives some interesting history on the evolution of Oracle ECM's user management strategy.

eWeek's take on SOA and web 2.0 HERE.

Thomas Kurian is quoted on page 3.

Overall, I think that the article beats around what I say HERE: namely that SOA subsumes web 2.0. 

But "web 2.0" is a bigger buzzword now so it gets the credit.  Oh well.

I do like the definition of mashup that ZapThink analyst Jason Bloomberg provides: "A mashup is a flexible composition of services within a rich user interface environment."

I'm still not sure whether or not a composite application is *really* more web 2.0 (as opposed to SOA only or Enterprise 2.0 - a blending of web2.0 and SOA in a corporate context - IMHO) simply because it can be accessed via HTTP. 

The definitions will work themselves out eventually.  Right now we're all along for the ride. 

P.S. the view from the front is nice.