Have we reached the “Tipping Point” of bringing widgets, RIA’s (Rich Internet Applications) and other Cloud apps into the realm of the enterprise? Or are they still in their infancy and the domain of the consumer world? Some argue the “Desktop” as we know it is dead or dying and that the Web is the new OS. Without a doubt, it’s heading that way, but here’s some sober second-thought to cut through the media hype.
The “Cloud” a term for indicating Web-based applications that leave the OS on the server, or many servers, can be seen more and more on technology sites and blogs. But what part of the commercial market, the Business World is the Cloud really reaching? Are major corporations and government leveraging these applications and all they promise? Perhaps to some degree.
The reality though is that the Desktop is not dead yet. And it will be a while before we can wander into any office or coffee shop, open a Web browser and access all our productivity tools and applications via a browser and go to work. With Adobe releasing AIR, Microsoft’s Silverlight and updates to Avid and Final Cut Studio and with many corporations implementing ERP programs and maintaining vast farms of Desktop PC’s and network infrastructure - the change will not happen overnight.
Applications like Twitter and IM do have their uses in the organization. ZOHO CRM and office tools along with GoogleSites and GoogleDocs are good, but the ability to secure networks, and produce the kinds of vast documentation and data a large organization creates in just a single day, the Web as an OS just isn’t there yet.
What we will likely see is the development of a transitional business case. Many enterprises have realized the value of using Web-based CRM tools such as Salesforce.com or ZOHO, but none have warranted the complete transition off of Microsoft Windows or Apple OSX.
To truly see a Tipping Point in the new OS being the Web, some fundamental activities must occur such as; whole corporations with thousands of employees migrate from desktop PC’s to a Web OS and access all business productivity tools via the browser only. Applications that require large processing power need to access priority bandwidth. Security and network partitioning and management have to improve significantly.
In the meantime, we are likely to see current widgets and Webware apps (Software-as-a-Service) be leveraged mostly by small to medium sized business and consumers. This can equate to some serious cash for the developers of these applications, but a shift into business overall is still likely ten-fifteen years away.