Social CRM - A Gartner Presentation

Gartner prez on social crm

View more presentations from Barry Libert.

SOA Book Store - I

Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is an architectural style for enabling business agility in the age of rapid and constant change. Here are some good books on the subject, by one of the leading authors - Thomas Erl - in this space.

Amazon Web Services

Amazon Web Services is seemingly the pioneer in the space of cloud-based services. Ever since the hype around Cloud Computing began, Amazon has been putting together a number of cloud-based services that leverage Amazon's proven and reliable infrastructure.

While each product and service needs to be understood in detail, here's a quick overview of the Amazon Web Services portfolio.
(Tip: The following is an interactive mindmap - use the options below to navigate or optimize your view).

HTML 5 - A Choice for Web 2.0+

HTML 5 is the latest revision of the HTML standard and has been structured to improve support for 'Web 2.0' capabilities of today's web. This includes support for the latest multimedia, apart from a number of new language constructs and improvements to continue enabling humans and computers to process.

Here's a comprehensive look into HTML v5.

How to build a html5 websites.v1

Google html5 Tutorial

A summary of some major differences between HTML v4.x and HTML 5, can be found here.

Social Analytics - A New Era ...

Okay, so we all have now become familiar with Social Media - and it's hard to get by without coming across (annoying?) emails and banners on web pages, that promise to teach you the magic of 'Social Media Marketing' and how it can do wonders for you or your business. Sure, there are success stories, and social media is undoubtedly a new channel force to reckon with in these times. Web pages and sites is probably passe.

But, if you are seriously considering leveraging the so called power of this new channel, as you delve deeper, you're sure to ask (or be asked), if there's any way to analyze - and we mean, quantitatively - the ROI of embarking on this Social Media journey. In the good old days of the pre-Web 2.0 era, IT and business was used to implementing Business Intelligence (BI) solutions. Or, Analytics, as its more rightly called.

So, in this new age of social media hyperactivity, what's going to be needed? You guessed it - Social Analytics! Get a sense of what this is, through this wonderful presentation here:

Blog Indiana 2010 - Social Analytics: A New Era of Web Measurement (#EpicMetrics #BIN2010)

View more presentations from Brandon Prebynski.

Castles in the Cloud: Developing with Google App Engine

This one can be termed as one from the archives. But, nevertheless, it has a lot of useful information and a good overview of what is (and isn't?) in Google App Engine.

Castles in the Cloud: Developing with Google App Engine

View more presentations from catherinewall.

Find more posts on GAE in library.cloud.gae.

Google Docs

With all the hype around 'collaboration' in this Web 2.0-powered world of ours, here's another cool solution from (who else?) but Google. Google Docs is all about collaboration and sharing documents - in real time - without the hassles of emailing them back and forth.

Check out a quick overview of what Google Docs is, and what & how it solves:

Agile Tools

1. MountainGoat Software - Planning Poker Cards

Planning Poker (R) is an interesting tool for agile planning and estimating.

. Like playing cards, but "special"
. Good for all developers on the team
. Encourages collaboration and effective participation

All this while making the whole thing fun!

To know more about Planning Poker (R):
What is Planning Poker?


2. BrightGreen - Agile Project Management Tool

- Online, web-based
- Reasonably simple pricing (per
user/month)

Main Features:

- Requirements Management:
Organize/structure, filter, export,
dependencies
- Wall: Visualization, as a dashboard
- Planner: Releases & Iterations
- Customization: for paid-up
accounts only
- Reports: Burn-down charts,
Velocity chart, ...

More Information on BrightGreen:
Home - Tour - Who's using this? - FAQs - Pricing/Signup

Google Voice

Google Voice - an 'integrated' voice service:

Google Chrome OS: Web 3.0?

Here's a simple, and quick overview of what Google Chrome OS - a new "web" OS from Google is.

As we saw in the post Future of the Web: 2010 and beyond, 'Web OS' seems to be the near-future, the Web 3.0 generation of things to come. Just as Google is an example of all things Web 2.0, we'll have to watch this space to see if they can also inspire the shape of Web 3.0-things to come.

The [Unofficial] Google Architecture

Okay, so Google seems to be everywhere, anywhere... And, users are lapping up the stuff they put out there for obvious reasons - there's something about the whole thing, that you just can't beat. If you are awed by the stuff they do, and are struggling to even begin to imagine how they do the things they do, don't worry - you may not be alone in this universe.

Here's an awesome view into the guts of what Google is seemingly made up of; in other words, architected. Really great work by the author of this, and thanks to the sharer.

The Anatomy Of The Google Architecture Final v1.1

View more presentations from Hasan Veldstra.

All about Google!

Now, who wouldn't want to know about Google. Be it how they run their search, how they power it, what's the latest innovation and where are they heading.

Well, the 'allaboutgoogle' series that we have here will address just that - all.about.google!

Starting off the series we found a couple of 'Google Presentation' (hmm, ok, a bit dated, nonetheless) that captures the evolution of Google since the beginning.

Google at a glance 1998 - 2008

View more presentations from Andreas Jaffke.

Google Presentation

"Yes, architecture is relative, but it is not arbitrary."

The Zachman Framework^(TM) for Enterprise Architecture is something we've always been inspired by, since it summarizes the multiple dimensions (and perspectives) that are important to defining the enterprise perspective. It is both, simple and overwhelming at the same time. (But, then, no one ever said architecting was simple!).

Architecture - in the broadest sense - may mean different things, depending on the perspective and who (i.e which role) is the stakeholder. The Zachman Framework^(TM) throws up a number of debates and this article by John Zachman, discusses the finer distinctions between the three main perspectives: Conceptual, Logical and Physical.

Yes, architecture is relative, but it is not arbitrary. As long as we continue to consider it arbitrary, we are going nowhere. We are just adding to the legacy. “Keeping on doing the same thing and expecting different results is one definition of insanity” (Einstein)

The Cloud Computing Bookstore - I

If you are in IT (and, very likely even if you are not), Cloud Computing is raining down heavily in everyday life. To learn more about Cloud Computing, check out some of these books.

Oracle Completes Sun Acquisition

On April 20, 2009, Oracle announced that it was buying Sun Microsystems, in a deal valued at approximately $7.4 billion.

With the completion of this acquisition, Oracle now provides, what is referred to as the complete, integrated stack: "SOFTWARE. HARDWARE. COMPLETE."

With the acquisition completed in January, 2010, Oracle announced a series of Webcast Series and events to clarify the strategy for 'Transforming the IT Industry'.

Check out the following presentation from the series:

1. Charles Phillips: Welcome and Oracle + Sun: Transforming the Industry
View Highlights or Full Webcast
2. Larry Ellison: Oracle + Sun
View Highlights or Full Webcast
3. Thomas Kurian: Software Strategy
View Highlights or Full Webcast

and more.

Apple iPad - Review

After a long wait, Steve Jobs on 27 January, 2010, announced the launch of the Apple iPad - a device that promises to enhance and improve the user's experience in various perspectives: Browsing, Music, Pictures... and of course, eBooks!

With a super sleek size (only 0.5 inch thick) and touch screen enabled, the iPad has many similarities to the revolutionary iPhone.

Check out a quick review of what the iPad is all about:

Under the hood: Google App Engine Architecture

You can find more than a few sources (including our library.cloud.gae) that describe and help to understand various aspects about Google App Engine. Architecture, and more so a Platform-architecture, such as GAE's and design motivations can be quite an interesting topic.

Found an interesting presentation - by Patrick Chanezon, from Google DevFest '09 - which delves into the design and architectural aspects for GAE.

Google Devfest 2009 Argentina - Intro to Appengine

Google App Engine - With Java and Groovy

Google App Engine (GAE) With Java and Groovy

GAE began with supporting Python, but is now able to support applications you write (or deploy) for various languages: Java, Groovy, and others too, that use the JVM-based language architecture (eg. JRuby, Grails). Here's a nice quick peek into some low-level technical aspects and examples of using GAE with Java and Groovy.

Google App Engine With Java And Groovy

Google App Engine Java, Groovy and Gaelyk
Based on the present limitations (or are these by design?), a logical question this would very likely throw up would be what's the motivation behind limiting the support of Java/JEE APIs on GAE?

Understanding Google App Engine (Quickly)

Here's a crisp introduction and overview to Google App Engine: Hosting Data and Apps Using the Google Infrastructure.

Living in the Cloud: Hosting Data & Apps Using the Google Infrastructure

Google App Engine - A PaaS for Web Applications

Cloud Computing is one hot topic these days. There's a rare chance that you'll find a blog, presentation or conversation, which doesn't somehow lead into the topic.

We introduced Cloud Computing in an earlier post, and mentioned about the three primary models - service models, to be technically correct:

• Infrastructure (or Hardware) as a Service (Iaas or HaaS)
• Platform as a Service (PaaS), and
  
• Software as a Service (SaaS)

Each service model offers opportunities to providers to innovate and create those killer/disruptive services, like Force.com.

Google's App Engine (GAE) is also positioned to offer a Platform-as-a-service, and is more specifically looking to provide a web application platform for users to deploy their applications on. Surely, no one understands and leverages the power of the web like Google does. And, GAE is only going to extend this.

Here's an overview of Google App Engine from DevFest 2010. (It's comprehensive, albeit, a bit lengthy).

Google App Engine - Devfest India 2010

View more presentations from chanezon.

Future of the Web: 2010 and beyond

Before we continue, here's wishing all of you from around the world, a very happy new year, and the start of another decade.

The beginning of the first decade of this century saw the emergence of the Internet and the web as a force to reckon with. "Web 1.0", as it is now called, in hindsight, saw a number of ups and downs [who can forget the bubble], but nevertheless for those who had the courage (and luck, and of course the creativity) to weather that storm, caught the attention of the people of this world.

Without the belief that the web was a force to reckon with, we would not have seen the maturing of the "web as a platform". And, experts say, "Web 2.0" (See post: What is Web 2.0?) - the present generation of stuff that's enabled via the now, almost ubiquitous Internet, is only just beginning to exploit what's possible.

So, what does the future of the Web hold, as we embark on yet another exciting start to this decade, with renewed hopes of economic recovery, the increased penetration of the web in our daily lives, a larger digital people and the hype & promise of Cloud Computing (See post: What is Cloud Computing?)?

Nova Spivack, a technology visionary, has written about the past, present and future of the web. His famous graph (see below), depicting the evolution of the web seems to offer some hint to what the future of the web holds.


Nova blogs extensively - and very thoughtfully - and what's really unique about the web-evolution graph, is how he has divided the evolution, more on the basis of time (decade-wise), to depict the incrementally [smarter] web. This is quite in contrast to what many folks often times tend to interpret as the progressively "next, technology-driven version" of the web.

As we enter the third decade of the web (and hence 'Web 3.0'), Semantic Web seems to be the central theme and some of the early innovations are already beginning to see the light of day, even as the sun has set on 2009.