Will Web 2.0 be a wave worth riding?

Channel partners should keep their eyes on Web 2.0's progress as its flexibility is proving extremely popular, writes Keith Humphreys

Software as a Service (SaaS), or Cloud Computing as Google calls it, is not a new model – it has been around as long as the web. The idea of delivering desktop-like applications over the web was co-opted by Sun with Java applets. Java has since been remade into a generic replacement for C++, but in 1996 it represented a new model of software – instead of desktop applications, companies would run Java “applets” delivered from a server.

The common link between Sun and Google is Eric Schmidt. As Sun chief technology officer he envisioned the future as: “When the network becomes as fast as the processor, the computer hollows out and spreads across the network,” which Sun promoted as ‘the network is the computer’.

But Sun failed to absorb Schmidt’s tag line. In which direction would the profits from that transformation flow? “Not to the companies making the fastest processors or the best operating systems,” Schmidt prophesised, “but to the companies with the best networks and the best search and sort algorithms.”

After Schmidt left Sun he had a brief spell at Novell before he joined Google as chief executive, where he found himself engulfed by the future he had predicted.

While Web 2.0 encompasses many user-driven online services, such as Wikipedia, Second Life and MySpace as well as peer-to-peer networking, blogs, webcasts, podcasts and social networking in its many forms, it is Google and YouTube that hold an attraction for the channel. But channel partners should not ignore the underlying technology that has superseded Java, such as Ajax, and Ruby on Rails, in particular.

After using several Google applications (Picasa, calendar, mail, maps, docs and spreadsheet) over the past few months, we have glimpsed the future because these products really work. Having documents held virtually not only makes sharing and collaboration simple, but provides a secure repository especially useful when travelling, not to mention the simplicity of the push functionality of Gmail to a mobile or PDA. However, because of the limitations on the number of files imposed by Google (for example, 1,000 doc files), Cloud Computing is not a solution for enterprises today.

Microsoft’s issue here is that despite progress in reliability and security, not all businesses want to put all their communications eggs in a Microsoft basket. So, as it is unlikely there will be a mass exodus away from the status quo of Office and Cisco because of these limitations, why has McKinsey reported a positive response to Web 2.0 from the enterprise customers it interviewed?

According to the report How businesses are using Web 2.0, executives say they are using it to communicate with business partners and customers. A fifth of the 2,800 interviewees said they are using blogs to improve customer service or solicit customer feedback. Three-quarters said they were satisfied with their investment and would be increasing their spend.

The Web 2.0 phenomenon works because both the technology and the “offer” are compelling. Google, for example, is not forcing the market to operate its way – it builds systems, tools and services and lets customers choose. Using advertising revenue rather than revenue from suing competitors, or anyone threatening your revenue, is like riding the wave instead of paddling against it.

Channel partners should ready themselves to embrace the new trend and catch the wave.

Keith Humphreys is managing consultant at EuroLAN.