Peder 2.0

Early on in elementary school, I used to get dinged one point for misspelling my name on tests. I had to explain to my teachers that my name was, in fact, spelled with a “d” and not a “t.” Fortunately, the debate over my name didn't really affect my long-term success as a student.

Lately, a lot of people are debating the term “Web 2.0.” The name doesn't matter so much as the fact that a lot of cool innovations are happening out there. After all, it is human nature to slap a label on any trend or movement; scandals become “gates,” famous couples get their first names globbed together and tech advances get labeled as new computing eras.

Evolution is the nature of the IT industry – and software development has been iterative from the start. The fact is, this era is about not just technology, but also the momentum and evolution taking place in how we think of, purchase, deliver and obtain software services.

People are comfortable with using technology in ways they weren't just a few years ago. These new attitudes have brought about new business models that involve collaboration and the need to scale as never before. But as Tim Berners-Lee recently pointed out:

“...the idea of the Web as interaction between people is really what the Web is. That was what it was designed to be – as a collaborative place where people can interact.”

Some will be prepared for the changes that are happening. Others won't. Here at Sun, we have been focused on the platform that powers Web services all along. While other Unixes were divesting, Sun continued to innovate and invest in Solaris. The result: the best OS on the planet. And we continue to drive the industry forward by sharing code and participating with communities. We respond to customer demand for more cost-effective solutions with trend-setting subscription pricing models. And we're leveraging a community development model across all of our software products – with a goal of helping our customers get more value out of the software.

Basically, Web 2.0 is an extension of network computing. So is Software as a Service (SaaS) – whether it's defined as Web-based, hosted, subscription-based, one-to-many design, or public infrastructure applications. It all comes back to Sun's mantra of more than 20 years: “The network (really) is the computer.”

Companies like MySpace with 100 million+ accounts and Facebook with 9.5 million members are reframing the ways that marketing and advertising are done – from one-way, one-to-many to highly targeted and even customized communication. Communities are being built around common interests, and those communities are giving input into the services they consume. The question is, from the Linked-ins, YouTubes, and Nings of the world, who will become the next Amazon or Google?

The new user attitudes and expectations that have helped build these social networking sites are fueling advancements on the business side as well. Companies like Salesforce.com and Webex are among those addressing business needs by using the network to more efficiently deliver their solutions.

If we put the Web 2.0 labeling discussion aside, what it really comes down to is delivering what customers really want for a price that makes sense for their business – and being ready to take advantage of the opportunities that arise. Without the right platform, companies won't be able to move fast enough. Performance is more important than ever.

Posted at 01:55PM Sep 21, 2006 by Peder Ulander in Sun  |