Matt Deacon's digestive blog : Web 2.0

Implications for the Future of IT

Matt Deacon — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 19:59:00 GMT

I went over to Essex University the other week to give the 1^st year and post-grad computer science students a lecture that focused on something I called “IT Mega-trends” in the afternoon I held a workshop to discuss what implications these trends might have on the students.

We split them into 4 groups each to focus on one of the following topics of population, jobs, education and information along with a set of statistics relating to each topic.

“If you’re 1 in a million in china then there are 1,300 just like you”

“Today’s learner will on average have 10-14 jobs by the age 38”

“Top 10 in-demand jobs by 2010 did not exist in 2004”

“At the start of a 3 year degree half of 1^st year material will be out of date by the end of the course”

“40 exabytes (4x10¹⁹) of unique new information will be generated this year”

These statistics were meant to act as a disturber to make the students uneasy about their potential futures and included facts such as:

At the end we came back together and drew a mind-map from their output. Iain Langdon, their lecturer re-ran the workshop later in the with some other students from the university and pulled together the following combined mind-map.

I was worried initially that the students wouldn’t engage but to be honest I was struck by how much of what we talked about they were already aware of and that they readily accept that a “career is not for life” that they will be expected to retrain and deal with enormous “rates of change”and what they learn now is really the skills of “learning how to learn”. “Life long learning” was a key phrase that struck in my mind.

I felt pretty good about things on the whole when I left. This wasn’t the ugly mob of disgruntled coders that I’d been expecting to greet a bloke from Microsoft but people who understand much more about the life we are moving towards than I had really given credit to.

[Click image to enlarge]

SaaS: For dummies

Matt Deacon — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 02:26:00 GMT

SaaS is a continually evolving mix of existing and emerging technologies and business models and as I have suggested seems to be best described in terms of the following six characteristics (although I am sure there are more).

SaaS, at best should be viewed as a metaphor for the state of software delivery at a particular point in time (ie. now). The significance is that now, network communication can almost be assumed to be a given; markets are no longer constrained and in fact are floating in a layer above that of the physical world; this is no longer a global market, as this suggests a change in location; the market is no pan-global; the markets are now in the cloud.

SaaS is a fad; it is a metaphor that encapsulates the evolving software landscape of today. It is only a matter of time before the term SaaS will fade away into obscurity and be replaced by the more familiar term: Software. Only this time round the term software will not mean the same as it does today.

It’s much like music; we are in a period similar to Punk; a relatively short period in time, but a significant period in musical history. The result of which has seen the explosion of an incredible array of new musical forms. Some good and some not so good. Ok so as long as we ignore the whole of the eighties, new romantics and more recently pop idol we're looking good for an analogy here!

Welcome to the future of software as we will know it.

6. SaaS: Reach

Matt Deacon — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 02:25:00 GMT

The final and perhaps all encompassing characteristic of SaaS is described in terms of reach or rather the size of the new global markets into which these products instantly play. This is an obvious draw but with significant side effects. The fact that you are ‘instantly’ global can work in two ways; either, you are an instant success in which you need to be able to scale instantly, deal with cultural and locale issues such as language and business processes etc. or you are not and your growth is slower and more drawn out. Marketing is and has always been a significance in terms of the web and so you need to play the search engine game and work on image, profile and create a brand. All of which are difficult without the other issues facing a SaaS delivery model. The pressures come from all sides, “you’re damned if you’re an instant success and you’re damned if you’re not”.

However, the truth is the tail is out there. It’s not about small numbers and large returns; it’s about large numbers and small returns. Focusing on the key features and delivering on these; listening to the feedback and nurturing through the establishment of a community of users seem to be recipes for sustainable growth. The future markets are consumer driven and reputation based, at least during the early phases of on demand software.

5. SaaS: Community

Matt Deacon — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 20:03:00 GMT

Another common characteristic of SaaS at present is the emergence of the online SaaS developer communities that typically surround a particular application often extending the platform capabilities, providing integration solutions etc. These often arise out of the early adoption community and can prove extremely influential groups on the subsequent evolution and uptake of a SaaS application. A term that has been used to refer to this phenomenon is “outsourced innovation” or “open innovation” or the “rise of intermediaries” as Mikko Ahonen puts it. The most readily identifiable example being the Apex Platform from Saleforce.com but a fun site I was introduced to not long ago is the Mashery, that boasts being able to take your web service offering and build a strong and active developer community upon it!

4. SaaS: Management

Matt Deacon — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 18:06:00 GMT

SaaS applications are characteristically completely managed by the vendor. The implementation of management tasks and responsibilities is opaque to the subscriber and Service-level agreements (SLAs) govern the quality, availability, and support commitments that the provider makes to the subscriber. The key driver here being to reduce the costs incurred by IT within an organisation especially when concerned with non-differentiating services.

Management is a pervasive characteristic across all application and location characteristics but may differ in terms of individual management requirements. Typical non-functional management requirements of a SaaS application include:

· Provisioning – that covers installation of application ranging from a zero install as per a web application to a no hassle or no user install.

· Configuration and customisation of functions, features, look and feel etc.

· Billing – see SaaS licensing

· Monitoring – health of the application such as reliability, performance, security etc.

· Support – user support etc.

Perhaps not surprising is that many of the management issues are tertiary concerns for a start-up SaaS provider, especially those who adopt the web hosted model. Most time is spent concentrating on developing the value proposition itself. Much of the management information is gleaned through the production of adhoc reports from the hosting and database tiers.

It is interesting on one hand that billing is most often handled through this adhoc approach given that it is central to how the SaaS Provider handles its income. In reality while they are undoubtedly focused on generating their revenue stream in terms of business function the fundamental truth behind this is that many providers do not yet understand the dynamics of their market place and so to invest in a particular licensing model at such a volatile stage is viewed as a waste of investment and energy.

It does not take much to imagine that there will be a rise in SaaS providers in the areas of SaaS Licenising, Management and other non-functional components as the SaaS models evolve and further differentiate ... hmmm maybe I need to build something;)!

3. SaaS: Location

Matt Deacon — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 17:27:00 GMT

In terms of location a SaaS Application is most readily associated with that of an internet hosted web application (and hence hosting may have been a better description in hindsight). However, in reality this only represents one of many location (hosting) models that are available including these described below:

· Remote; where the SaaS Application is hosted within the vendors IT environment and accessed by the consumer remotely.

· On-premise; where the SaaS application is hosted within the customers own IT environment and accessed locally.

· Appliance; where the vendor supplies hardware/software as a "black box" that is installed in the customer’s own IT environment, this can also include virtualized environments.

· Virtualised; a variant of the appliance model whereby the application may be hosted on the users desktop, but is isolated or virtualised using technologies such as that provided by Softgrid for example.

Several inhibitors to SaaS adoption, such as multi-tenancy, security and reliability are currently driving the evolution of some of these models. However, with the likes of application virtualisation it is conceivable that this will be an enabler in its own right for the myriad of applications that do not fit instantly into the classic internet hosted web application model.

1. SaaS: Application

Matt Deacon — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 20:08:00 GMT

Today a SaaS application is most readily recognised and associated with user interactive web applications accessed directly over the internet (eg. the web application). Already synonymous with the SaaS phenomena is the likes of the infamous Salesforce.com for example.

However, SaaS as a concept caters for the full spectrum of functional software and therefore encapsulates but is not limited to the likes of rich or smart client applications that are hosted on the client’s machine all the way through to connected atomic services such as those provided as XML Web Services whether they be based on SOAP, REST or just POX.

The fact that the range of a SaaS:Application is so broad automatically begs the question of why this is a SaaS characteristic at all. In my opinion it is important if only to dispel the common misconceptions that SaaS is all about online “web applications” alone. In fact the SaaS model is much broader and does not even necessarily dictate that a SaaS:Application is “connected” at all.

In summary a SaaS:Application can be thought of encompasses all Software that is delivered in the context of the other five characteristics of SaaS.

Six characteristics of SaaS

Matt Deacon — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 19:34:00 GMT

The world of IT doesn’t stand still and never has this been truer than it is today. SOA and related concepts are still riding strong on the wave but a new contender is starting to make its way through into the mainstream; this being the concept of Software as a Service (SaaS).

SaaS is a very nebulous term that really encapsulates a whole range of new and existing software delivery models often bundled together in different combinations in order to deliver a particular service or function to a particular consumer be that human or computer. It is a term that to me really describes a point in time, a transition in the way software is delivered and consumed, the ultimate enabler for which is down to the ubiquity of computer communication made possible as a result of the Internet, broadband and vast reduction in hardware costs.

For this reason, we shouldn’t get too stuck on crystallising a single definition for SaaS as it really represents a moving target and at some point we'll hopefully just revert back to using the good old word software once more. But for the moment, as we move through this transitional period there is definite value in highlighting the changes in software delivery that is crystallised in the acronym SaaS.

So with this in mind over the next few postings I plan to provide an overview of what in my opinion SaaS encapsulates today in terms of a set of six common characteristics that frequently re-occur when we see implementations of SaaS in the wild.

SaaS: Application

SaaS: Licensing

SaaS: Location

SaaS: Management

SaaS: Community

SaaS: Reach

As always feedback is welcomed and if there are additional characteristics then I would be interested in your opinions.

WAX pictures

Matt Deacon — Fri, 12 May 2006 12:59:00 GMT

The first set of pictures from wax can be found here!

Welcome to the World of ME!

Matt Deacon — Fri, 12 May 2006 00:30:00 GMT

The following diagram provides a view of the user significant business drivers that were identified during WAX. The power of 'ME' when measured in millions is an extremely significant force .... welcome to the "World of Me"!

WAX Workshop

Matt Deacon — Fri, 12 May 2006 00:27:00 GMT

On Tuesday I ran WAX; a Workshop to discuss the intersection of existing and emerging architectures including SOA, Web 2.0, SaaS etc. with 24 guys from a diverse set of backgrounds including Analysts, Vendors, Enterprises and Web 2.0 companies (see the WAX site for names).

The day was split into 2 main sections, firstly to explore the drivers that are causing a change in the architectural landscape. These were then mashed together to look for similarities and relationships in order to produce a top level set of drivers.

Access
Profit
Openness
Simplicity
Ease
Loyalty
Choice
Ubiquity
Reach

Personalisation
Culture
User Experience
Journey
Knowledge
Minimized Risk
Agility
Low barrier to entry

The second section was intended to generate a set of 'strategies' to address these drivers or requirements that would help lead to the definition new architectural models. However, to try this in one day, with a set of individuals who’d just met and whom come from different viewpoints proved a touch to much. That said – the groups struggled valiantly and a number of interesting outputs where achieved:

Three next generation Tea Pot designs, one called the iPot and one of the others called the Tea Pot 2.0. The iPot won and was selected for an additional prize as it incorporated the secret key design principle in that it was made of WAX!
A web 2.0 maturity model including a fascinating array of Web 2.0 sites that many hadn’t heard of – a great resource; ever wondered if your MP ever says anything in Westminster? Well you can now!

Mike Platt has made a few early comments on his blog and a WAX diagram that I find kind of interesting.

Now comes the fun trying to digest all the raw data that sould go up on WAX any day soon!

Copycat services and value chains

Matt Deacon — Sat, 29 Apr 2006 11:23:00 GMT

I've wanted to mention copycat services since the last IASA meeting and the chat some of us had over Pizza afterwards. We were talking about web services and I was on one about value chains and how these could drive standards.

In the case of successful value chains (where there is money) there will by copycats; services that mimic your APIs and support similar functions, and more importantly, innovate further and reduce the margins. This on one level will drive a standard through that particular value chain. In so doing you are developing a market for competition which will ultimately drive the service or business function towards being a commodity so further increasing the market for consumption of the service.

I guess that this is really a standard trade dynamic, which I am sure goes way back in time. One guy suggested the analogy of the "IBM PC", now, the "PC" which is available from a myriad of vendors. This was quickly followed by the example of the "Hoover" - it wasn't that long ago that his parents would talk about their "Hoover" but now we can buy a vacuum cleaner from any of a 100 or vendors or so. These are all examples of innovation that when successful migrate to the centre as a commodity.

In the world of services this comoditisation will be dramatic, like a wildfire as the virtual world has no physical boundaries. Copycat services will be instrumental in shaping these markets, broadening their apeal and so driving them towards the maturity of a commodity.

Rise of the SaaS Appliance!

Matt Deacon — Sat, 29 Apr 2006 11:09:00 GMT

It's been an interesting month, been talking a lots of interesting people. One guy, Alexis Richardson was talking about a range of SaaS models, such as the internally managed Service and the external thrid-party Service. But in between we talked about the internally hosted third-party Service. I'd seen things like what BridgeWerx and have been thinking how these re-deployable black box services could work. I was starting to think of them being a transitional phase of SaaS as Services start to migrate to the Outspace. Now I've just read about BT Integrate a managed service for multi-site SOAs.

The glue components are coming and the rise of the SaaS Appliance is upon us!

Web 2.0 Innovation map

Matt Deacon — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 18:58:00 GMT

Self promotion never hurts but where's all the Web 2.0 in the UK then?

http://www.fourio.com/web20map/