Intranets are the silicon of software. Solid-state technology revolutionized the
development of electronic devices by moving the design considerations to a
higher level of abstraction. The basic circuits became standard and replicatable,
allowing the solution to be viewed as functions rather than wiring. The
communication standards of the Internet that provide location transparency, and
the content standards of the web that provide client transparency enable the
same leap of abstraction in design for applications, allowing solutions to be
viewed as functions rather than software code. This is not a new concept in
software. Object programming has been pursuing this goal for some time. However,
the pioneering efforts at applying object programming concepts were limited by
an incompatible and complex infrastructure. By contrast, the Intranet provides
both the ability and the incentive to move to an object approach.
Developing Intranet applications is a layered process.
First, the technical infrastructure must be created, a
process many organizations are completing at the time this
was written. Next the point solutions that attract users to
the technology must be employed. The tools that make
Intranet technology manageable and provide more efficient
development environments need to mature. It is only after
the infrastructure and tools are built that this technology
will begin to show its true impact. This is the point where
the radical transformations will begin to occur. In
electronics, solid-state technologies first replaced
functions that were implemented with earlier generation
electronic technologies. Over time, solid-state electronics
also began replacing functions that historically were
implemented with mechanical solutions, for example, the
ignition systems in automobiles. We should expect a similar
pattern of evolution from traditional software with the
implementation of Intranets.
I have tried to avoid the FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) approach to
adopting Intranets in this book, but the natural progression of this technology,
as outlined in the previous paragraph, makes it difficult to avoid here. The
implications of Intranet applications on those organizations that participate in
this evolution are going to be profound. It is difficult to see how those who do
not lay this foundation and move forward today will be able to catch up and save
themselves from the fate faced by the Swiss watch makers or companies like
Addressograph when previously mechanical solutions were replaced by solid-state
electronics.
The shift in applications requires the evolution and maturity of key tools.
The specific outcomes in many of these tool areas are still in flux and will be
more affected by the power struggles and buying behaviors of the markets than by
the technology. The advice in the 1960s Bob Dylan song: "...don't speak too soon
for the wheel's still in spin, and there's no telling who that it's naming,"
certainly applies here. But the power of the standards also provides clear
trends. If those who are the winners now cannot give up the comfort of their
proprietary locks and move forward, then a ripe opportunity exists for others to
replace them.
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