BI killer app: Google&Cognos
Last year I wrote about SAP’s in-memory BI technology. Refer to SAP’s SDN portal for the latest info. Today I read about a partnership between Cognos and Google regarding enterprise search and BI. Sounds very interesting and may compete with SAP and Oracle’s BI offerings. The Cognos solution is built into Google’s OneBox appliance.
Realtime Application Development Online?
A friend of mine recently sent me an email regarding Coghead. According to their website Coghead is: “A simple, powerful new way to create web-based business applications that can be used by anyone, anytime, anywhere!” This is not a new idea, however Coghead seems to be getting a lot of attention. I want to investigate Coghead in more detail, however in the meantime I wanted to post this overview of some web 2.0 online development environments. Guy Kawaski posted an article on his blog and the comments are a good overview of what people think about these types of environments.
Some of the pro’s of this approach:
- Put application development in the hands of the business users. (also a con)
- The development environment is online and always available. Customers don’t have to worry about servers, backups, etc.
- The development environment is immediately available.
- Most of these environments are WYSIWYG.
- Developers can focus on developing the difficult enterprise wide applications.
…and some con’s of this approach:
- the application is only available while you have access to the Internet and the host website is available,
- many companies may not be comfortable storing their data at a different site,
- potential customers may ask: “What happens to my applications and data if the company goes under?”
- only a small percentage of development is taken up by coding, most of it is spent on design. I’m not sure if end users are the best at application design. Do end users understand abstraction and program design?
The Law of Leaky Abstractions:The following article does a great job of explaining the concept of abstraction and why “code generators” mostly fail to be successful. Here is an extract of the article — I recommend that you read the entire article.
“The law of leaky abstractions means that whenever somebody comes up with a wizzy new code-generation tool that is supposed to make us all ever-so-efficient, you hear a lot of people saying “learn how to do it manually first, then use the wizzy tool to save time.” Code generation tools which pretend to abstract out something, like all abstractions, leak, and the only way to deal with the leaks competently is to learn about how the abstractions work and what they are abstracting. So the abstractions save us time working, but they don’t save us time learning.”
OK, and now the list of online web application development environments:
- Coghead,
- dabbledb – the 7 minute demo is quite a tour-de-force,
- Zoho Creater,
- Caspio,
- Dataweb,
- Interneer,
- Wufoo – form generator,
- Thingamy, and
- Jotspot – wiki-based development environment recently acquired by Google.
Don’t forget about the following mainstream products:
- Appexchange from Salesforce.com,
- SAP’s Visual Composer, and
- Oracle’s Application Express.
These tools are more for developers, but worth a mention when discussing realtime application development environments:
- Ruby on Rails,
- CakePHP, and
- Groovy.
[July 12, 2007 update: Magic Software, OpenSpan, and Joomla are also interesting alternatives.]Please send your comments and let me know if I missed any significant environments.
SoCon07
According to the organizers SoCon07 is: “2.0 style networking in 1.5 days”. This is a free conference on all things Web 2.0. It will take place at the University of Kennesaw, Georgia from February 9-10, 2007.Register here: SoCon07 registration.Btw, if you live in Atlanta then Techlinks website is a great way to stay informed regarding all things technological.
Good Sales resources
Wow, my first entry for 2007. May 2007 be very prosperous and blessed for you. I look forward to a great year with new challenges and blessings!The new financial year is upon us and the focus at the beginning of the year is usually on increasing sales. Below is a list of good sales resources. Most of these websites promote a specific individual and they usually have a free and very useful newsletter. Enjoy!
Let me know if can recommend another good sales resource.
Ubuntu @ Google
Recently Mark Shuttleworth hosted the Ubuntu Linux Developer’s Summit at Google in Mountain View.
You can view his presentation on Google Video. Btw, the Google Developer’s site is an interesting place to find APIs for Google and other cool sites and tools.My teenage son uses Ubuntu on his Dell PC and so far he can do everything he wants, i.e., AIM, web browsing, photo editing, and listening to MP3s. I installed Ubuntu on the Dell after a weekend of fun trying to restore Windows after a virus killed the machine.
Ruby, Squeak and Alice
A few months ago my 11 year old son asked me to teach him to program. Now I’ve tried this before — last time I pointed him to the Squeak website and said go forth and program. Unfortunately it wasn’t that easy. So over the last couple of months we’ve tried the following environments:RubyRuby is an industrial strength programming language and coupled with Ruby on Rails it is a great web app development environment. These were the steps we followed:1. Tried Ruby in your browser. My son crashed the browser environment — I’m still not sure how he did it.2. Completed the Ruby in Twenty Minutes tutorial. It took us more than 20 minutes…3. And now we are busy with a great Ruby tutorial by Chris Pine.4. Our goal is to write a Ruby on Rails app. I’ll publish the link as soon as we get there.Ruby is included in Mac OSX, however you can also download it from the Ruby website. It’s available for most operating systems. On the Mac we are using a great development environment called TextMate. A neat dashboard widget is available to view Ruby documentation. A Ruby plug-in is available for Eclipse.And finally you can download Locomotive, a complete Ruby on Rails environment for the Mac.SqueakOK, if you read my previous blog entries then you know that I’m a great fan of Smalltalk. Unfortunately my son doesn’t share my enthusiasm for Smalltalk so we haven’t spent time playing with Squeak or the etoys environment. Check out the squeakland website. Btw, this environment is included in the One-laptop distribution.AliceAlice is a 3D interactive development environment developed by the great folks at Carnegie-Mellon University. This is an excellent environment to learn OO concepts while directly interacting with your virtual world. Really cool stuff. It’s available for Mac, Windows and Linux.My son is doing great and he loves Ruby and Alice. I will keep you posted on his progress.
IT Matters and my top 10 list
On October 26, 2006 I had the privilege of presenting a guest lecture to the students at the College of IT at Georgia Southern University (GSU). I would like to thank Dr. Sonny Butler for inviting me. Below are the 10 main points I presented. My purpose was not to promote any specific technology or company, but to give the students a couple of life lessons based on my IT background and business experience.#1. Never stop learningNo, you don’t know everything after you earned your IT (or any other) degree. Never stop reading. Read IT books, business books and blogs. I recommend that you also read outside your field. For example I’m currently subscribed to The Futurist magazine.
It’s a great way to expand your horizons. Tip: Every year randomly pick up a magazine or book from the business section at your local bookstore.Attend conferences, and again sometimes attend conferences outside your field.Join a mentor group or a technology peer group. I belong to Vistage. It’s the largest CEO group in the world and I’ve learned a bunch from my peers, including CEOs from a flooring company, a cosmetic dentistry, a not-for-profit organization and a chicken feed additive company. All non-IT focussed organizations — go figure…Lastly, visit other countries. You will definitely gain new insights, broaden your experience and come back to the US with a new appreciation for how privileged we are in this country.#2. Be pragmaticI was very much in love with the technical betty of both OS/2 and Smalltalk. Very soon after leaving university I realized that a technically superior product doesn’t always win in the marketplace. For example: I still think Smalltalk is the best programming language, but so what. Most of my career I programmed in other languages, e.g., C++ and ABAP (SAP’s programming language). Don’t forget your principles, however when it comes to technology be pragmatic. Fortunately Smalltalk influenced Java and also influenced programming paradigms like SAP’s Webdynpro methodology and Ruby/Ruby on Rails.#3. IT is still relevantIT is still relevant and will continue to be relevant during our lifetimes. Most productivity gains still come from improvements in technology. I think that we are only at the beginning of the impact that cheap, high bandwidth, allways-on Internet access will have on consumers and the global economy. Think about the impact of Skype, Jajah, mobile devices and soon WiMax. Btw, cool technology like iPod is great hardware, however software (iPod’s software and iTunes) continues to be the secret 
sauce. IT is also making a big difference in uplifting the third world, e.g., MIT’s one laptop per child initiative. See my previous post on (RED).#4. India and China…and Eastern Europe, Russian, Bulgaria and Estonia… The world is flat and IT jobs (and lots of other jobs) will go off-shore. If you haven’t read “The World is Flat” by Thomas Friedman then you should read it now.I also recommend “Commanding Heights” by Yergin and Stanislaw. It chronicles the raise of free markets over the last 100 years. Fascinating stuff, really!I told the students that the best way to deal with the off-shore phenomenon is to make sure you remain relevant and learn new skills, e.g., project management, presentation skills, and writing skills.#5. Where will my IT degree take me — a technical or business career?You can take a technical track or move into a business career. For example, I have a Masters in Computer Science and started my career as a programmer. After a couple of years I became a consultant and eventually moved into a management position. I recently completed a 8 year tenure as the CEO of an IT consulting company. I think you can earn good money pursuing a technical career as well as a business/management career.IT Consulting is another very lucrative option, however it involves a lot of air travel and it will impact your family life. I recommend you consult while you’re not married and use the opportunity to see the world!
(RED), ONE&7 are making a difference…
Apple’s recent launch of the iPod Nano (PRODUCT) RED triggered this blog entry. Technology makes our lives much easier and more productive, but technology can also make a huge difference in less advantaged people’s lives in the rest of the world. In the follow paragraphs I list a number of interesting and worthwhile projects aimed at making the world a better place. Some of them leverage the best technology in the world to accomplish this. Some charities worthy of support…
- (PRODUCT) Red — Bono & kie is behind this again. They are convincing iconic companies/brands like Gap, Apple and Converse to sell (RED) products and to contribute a percentage of the proceeds of the sales of (RED) products to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Africa. It seems to be catching on. They are even on mySPACE.com and Flickr.com. Bono recently launched (RED) in the US on Oprah. Buy some (RED) products!
- ONE – Make Poverty History! — Bono is also behind this initiative. It is a way for everyone to show their support to fight AIDS and poverty globally and specifically in Africa. Register and show your support.
- What are we doing about Africa? — “I think our age will be remembered for three things — the digital revolution, the war against terror, and what we did, or did not do to put out the fires in Africa. Some say we can’t afford to, I say we can’t afford not to.” — Bono If you want to learn more about Africa then you can find good info on Wikipedia. The CIA World Factbook is always a good source of information. South Africa has a number of websites with great information. I prefer: South Africa – Alive with Possibility. You may also use a site like GivenGain to contribute to a charity of your choice.
- One laptop per Child — WOW, now this is daring! One of the founders of MIT Media Labs, Nicholas Negroponte announced an initiative in January 2005 to develop a $100 laptop and give it to 100 million children in the first year of the project. Security is a huge concern and is currently getting a lot of media attention. The OS is Linux and it includes cool software like the Squeak based graphical environment eToys. Smalltalk is finally available for the masses — smile!Negroponte’s mantra is: “It’s an education project, not a laptop project.” I really…really hope this project is successful.
- International Justice Mission — Did you know that 27 million men, women and children are still held in bonded slavery TODAY! I cannot! These guys are doing something about it. They go into some of the worst places in the world and physically rescue victims. They are lawyers and use their knowledge to do all the legal paperwork to free numerous men, women and children. They make a difference.
Closer to home (if you live in Atlanta, Georgia) you can get directly involved with the following organizations. They do powerful work to make a difference in the lives of the last, lost, and the least.
Reading list update incl Guy Kawasaki
I started reading “Now, discover your strengths” by Marcus Buckingham and so far I’m really enjoying this book. I also look forward to seeing Marcus at the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta this week.Art of the Start – Guy KawasakiI finished reading/studying Art of the Start — Wow! what a read. I highly recommend this book — even if you don’t intend starting anything soon. It’s a great guide to evaluate your current business practices.C.S. LewisI also finished a couple of C.S. Lewis books. Mere Christianity is a great logical approach to understanding Christianity. The Great Divorce is an allegory of the Afterlife — very thought provoking.Choosing to CheatInteresting read… This book by Andy Stanley is a must read for all overworked, stressed, and “overtravelled” businesspeople. I hope that after you read this that you make your family priority one.[amtap book:isbn=1591840562] [amtap book:isbn=0060652888] [amtap book:isbn=1590523296] [amtap book:isbn=0743201140]I would love to hear your comments about these books — or others like these…
Is in-memory technology SAP’s Oracle killer?
As I mentioned before my plan is to review and comment more and more on SAP’s technologies. I recently read an interview with Shai Agassi, SAP’s Chief Technology Dude in eweek.com regarding in-memory technology database technology. Shai believes that this is SAP’s killer product to take out Oracle’s cash cow database business. Read the article and decide for yourself. I think he and SAP is onto something and this will not be the last time we hear about this technology. SAP is already using it for its BIA (Business Intelligence Accelerator) product and recently introduced Enterprise Search offering. SAP worked with Intel on the hardware side, however SAP developed the algorithms themselves.I think this can be a huge differentiator for SAP — what do you think?Links:
- eweek.com interview with Shai
- See Shai’s SAPPHIRE keynote regarding BIA (you need to register — sorry).
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