Guest View: All-From-One; Or One-For-All?
By Bradley S. Fordham
July 15, 2003 —
(Page 1 of 2)
There are few IT decisions with broader implications than the choice of business software infrastructure, whether it be for an independent software vendor or a large enterprise.
There are two core philosophies that enterprises can employ. I like to call them "all-from-one" and "one-for-all." In an all-from-one approach, the enterprise adopts a vendor's proprietary framework and deploys systems built on it. In a one-for-all approach, the enterprise selects a set of technology standards that systems must support, thereby remaining vendor-independent. I have made both choices at different points in my career and found that they lead to starkly different results.
Microsoft, as an example of all-from-one, has an established record of building Windows operating systems with extensive APIs that allow software engineers to develop new applications on top of their proprietary framework. Advancements in personal computing have come from this all-from-one infrastructure approach, including faster development of new solutions, ease of use through common wizards and help functionality, and faster deployment across desktops by few administrators.
Microsoft's .NET and Web services strategy extends this all-from-one approach from desktops to the enterprise. Here applications such as customer relationship management, sales force automation, enterprise resource management and sales and marketing effectiveness-all critical to an enterprise's daily function-are shared by the entire organization and constantly communicate with one another and with external systems controlled by partners, suppliers, brokers, regulators and more.
It is at this point of enterprise integration that the all-from-one approach faces its most significant challenges.
ISVs and enterprises choosing an all-from-one path are limited by the single platform on which applications must run. Web services are reduced to being a revolutionary new platform API providing XML interoperability to platform applications over the Web. Many hardware and software solutions, otherwise providing significant business value or cost savings, are no longer options.
Most important, however, the enterprise loses control over its technology destiny. The platform vendor alone has ultimate control over critical issues, such as scalability, security, ease-of-maintenance and compatibility for applications. Dependency on the all-from-one platform and the vendor that maintains it is constant and complete.
Share this link: http://sdt.bz/27311
Most Read Latest News Blog Resources
Taking enterprise architecture to the business side
Startup Corso is bringing out a cloud-based planning platform that ties into business plans
|
|
Zeichick’s Take: Radio moves from analog waveforms to digital packets
Streaming radio highlights the need for streaming applications to be designed to take up as little bandwidth as possible
|
|
Appcelerator Acquires Cocoafish to Add Instant Mobile Cloud Capabilities to its Industry Leading Titanium Platform
Appcelerator Offers Messaging, Social, Location and Storage Mobile Cloud Services to All Mobile App Publishers
|
|
ComponentOne Releases a Collection of 40+ UI Widgets Powered by HTML5 and jQuery
ComponentOne has announced the 2012 release of Wijmo: a kit of UI widgets for HTML5 and jQuery development
|
Taking enterprise architecture to the business side
Startup Corso is bringing out a cloud-based planning platform that ties into business plans
|
|
Top five apps to manage your workload
Web applications offer new ways to track your “to-do” lists
|
|
Not so fast when it comes to testing in the cloud
Developers face outsourcing, virtual lab management and mobile devices as obstacles
|
|
Xceed releases UX-focused suite for Microsoft’s WPF
"Blendables" helps match user experiences to developer visions
|
Are you at risk for burnout?
Burnout is a severe problem and it can strike at any time. Here's how to tell if you are nearing the edge.
|
|
Agility, mom, and apple pie
If we're to evaluate the state-of-the-art in software development, we should start with the values espoused in the Agile Manifesto.
|
|
RIM woos developers with free tablet
How do you get more apps ported to the BlackBerry PlayBook? By giving every developer a free tablet, of course!
|
|
GitHire: Use Headhunters to Find Your Perfect Programmer
Are you a hiring manager tired of scouring the job boards? Check out this new service that will find 5 people interested in your jobs.
|
The Hidden Costs of Software Licensing
Moving beyond paper-based software licensing to more flexible, software-based licensing is a business decision. There is a growing trend tow...
|
|
Case Study: You May Need a Development Mechanic
As a contractor for a major financial player in Germany, SOBEGE, a German-based consultancy specializing in embedded IT and web services, wa...
|
|
Ensuring Software Quality at a Major International Bank
One of the world’s leading international banks has adopted AgitarOne technology for delivering generated unit tests for their Java software...
|
|
Load Testing Adobe Flex Applications
Adobe Flex applications may be different from applications you’ve worked with before. For classic HTML web applications, the server does all...
|