SAAS and Virtualization for Dummies

Found a couple of very simple and informative videos created by InfoWorld called Infoclipz.

The first is a  3 minute overview of Software as a Service.

Infoworld also created a short clip on Virtualization that is useful as well.

Enterprise 2.0 Summit at CeBIT 2008

The organizers of the Enterprise 2.0 Summit at CeBIT in Hannover, Deutschland have billed it as the first European Enterprise 2.0 conference.

The summit will be a one day event held during the annual CeBIT trade show on Sunday 4 March 2008. Although this initial event will be modest compared to established Enterprise 2.0 events in the US, this would be a good venue to get up to speed on the key players and trends in Enterprise 2.0 in Western Europe.

The conference organizers are also utilizing social media for participation in the summit and have set up both Facebook and Xing discussion sites for the event.

OnDemand SpeedLinks Jan 11 2008

NewsGator Consumer Products are Free at Last
Leland Rucker’s announcement of NewsGator’s move to offer consumer products for free

Consumer and business apps begin to blur due to Web 2.0 
Ephraim Schwartz on divergence of Web 2.0 Consumer and Business Apps

Business not yet embracing Web 2.0
Helen Leggatt’s opinions on why many businesses have not yet adopted Web 2.0

Business Gets Social: Corporate Web 2.0 Usage is Booming
Joshua Levine’s assessment of corporate Web 2.0 adoption is 180 degrees counter to Helen Leggatt’s

Andrew McAfee and Tom Davenport To Debate Enterprise 2.0

Hylton Jolliffe and the team over on the Fast Forward blog have set up a webinar Friday 11 January with Andrew Mcafee and Tom Davenport.

This should be an interesting debate, especially considering that Andew Mcafee actually coined the term Enterprise 2.0 in 2006.

5 Enterprise 2.0 Trends to Watch in 2008

2008 is shaping up as the year where the previously divergent paths of Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0 converge. Just as Web 2.0 came in 2007 into the mainstream, 2008 should see 5 key trends evolve relating to Enterprise 2.0.

1. Pressure from Industry Peers and Management - Companies will be more willing to try mashups, wiki’s, blogs and other tools to determine if highly touted Enterprise 2.0 applications and methodologies can have an impact within their companies. Most IT managers will have either heard of or seen the benefits of adopting Enterprise 2.0 solutions and will be incented by senior management and or their peers to have a look at the benefits themselves.

2. As acquisitions continue at the torrid pace seen in 2006 and 2007 - many companies will look at Enterprise 2.0 applications as an alternative to the offerings of the large software companies. In addition, many Enterprise 2.0 applications offer integration solutions; making the offerings more attractive to companies whose primary application vendor has been acquired by a larger firm.

3. A changing technology workforce - infused with younger (under 30 years old) employees already well versed in Web 2.0 & Enterprise 2.0 applications; will continue to introduce these tools within their enterprises. This will in turn make the adoption rate of Enterprise 2.0 applications within companies much faster than the adoption rates previously seen with client server and ERP technologies for example.

4. Increased globalization will also drive Enterprise 2.0 adoption within
companies - In the past many companies where able to prosper and grow with a focus on their regional market. In 2008 any company worth its salt; whether a start-up or a global fortune 100, must have a global business plan and focus to increase market share and survive.

5. Maturation of Software as a Service (SaaS) and Service Orientated Architecture (SOA) - will be critical as SaaS & SOA are the delivery model and infrastructure that helped drive adoption of Web 2.0 into the mainstream. The maturation and acceptance of both SaaS and SOA in the enterprise will also drive massive adoption of Enterprise 2.0 solutions into the corporate world.