Enterprise mashups aren’t as happening as consumer mashups, as we’ve discussed here once before. This is primarily because enterprise mashups aren’t as easy to create compared to their consumer counterparts. One reason is that the most popular mashups today are browser-based. This means that querying different data sources, filtering and combining of data and rendering it in a proper format is all done within the confines of the browser. However, this cannot be the case in an enterprise, where data is quite heterogeneous - it resides in different formats, in different places, with different access limits. This is where server-based mashups come into the picture. Mashup servers can deal with disparate data sources and even allow users to mashup sources without understanding the differences between the various data formats. A mashup server can also provide a visual drag-and-drop interface for easy creation of mashups and allow users to share mashups through pre-built, server managed interfaces via everyday tools like spreadsheets, email and portals. Most importantly, a mashup server can safely store authentication
and authorization information and be connected to an enterprise’s
own authentication and monitoring toolsets. However, setting up the
mashup server, feeding it with formal services and connecting it to
security, governance and connection tools calls for the involvement
of IT personnel, without which the enterprise mashup space cannot
make much progress. |
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