Edward Feigenbaum, father of Artificial Intelligence Expert Systems, said when speaking on the importance of advanced technology, “Any new technology that delivers an order of magnitude improvement on the previous technology has a revolutionary impact on society. For example, it took our forefathers months to cross the United Sates by wagon, the invention of the train reduced that to weeks, the car to days, and the plane to hours. History documents the revolutionary impact these improvements in transportation technology have had through all of society.”

The World Wide Web (www or Web) and the Internet are two technologies that deliver order of magnitude improvements. Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the internet. Today no one questions whether a business will use the Web as a tool for their business; the only question is how to take advantage of what one industry executive coined “the most robust communications medium to ever exist”.

Many businesses have adopted the Web primarily for marketing because they have recognized it as a powerful tool to facilitate communication. However, many successful companies realize this powerful communication tool can be used to communicate all types of information. One of the most popular Web 2.0 features is mashups. For example, you can add Google maps to addresses, send e-mails to customers or suppliers, or track shipments from carriers. Other mashups work behind the scenes integrating data from separate and dissimilar applications. The term mashup came from the music industry and refers to playing different songs at the same time. Web 2.0 facilitates something similar by allowing users to seamlessly interact and share common information between multiple applications at the same time. Companies utilizing these and other features of the Web 2.0 environment are experiencing phenomenal results in adding revenue and reducing cost by incorporating this robust technology as an operational workhorse in all of their business activities.

How do I take advantage of the Web?

Historically, there have been few options for businesses to fully incorporate Web 2.0 features in their enterprise applications. Companies could (1) replace their existing systems or (2) modify them; either option is very costly. A more economical yet partial solution is to use one of a few tools available to “web enable” applications. This latter solution loads an applet (small program) into a user’s browser so that the user can utilize the “connection” aspect of the Internet to access their enterprise application. The application looks and works the same except you can use a browser from any computer to login to your application. These solutions usually work only with a very specific browser; typically this is Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. This solution would be much like going to Disney for a vacation and having a hurricane blow in while you are there. You could say that you went to Disney, but you would not get the full benefits! Most enterprise application software vendors have opted for this economical approach and quickly added the phrase “Browser Access” or something similar to their marketing message.

OpenLayer lets you have your cake and eat it too!

OpenLayer transforms your legacy application to a web based application magically. It does not need any change to the core technology or application. OpenLayer takes your screens and publishes them to the web in standard HTML. You don’t have to worry about security since OpenLayer supports the same secure protocols used by the major financial institutions (HTTPS). This means you can access your application anytime, any where, from any browser enabled device such as Windows, Apple, iPhones, and an increasing number of mobile devices. One of the biggest benefits designer and CEO of PROplus Systems Vijai Garg emphasizes is the “zero risk” nature of its use. “As new technologies are invented it makes sense for the existing systems to adapt to these technologies without sacrificing their time tested quality and without overhauling or redeveloping applications. OpenLayer enables you to reap the benefits of these time proven investments with zero to minimum risk while adapting to the Web 2.0 technologies.”

OpenLayer also gives your tired old application a new look and feel by fully exploiting the robust presentation facilities of the Web. You will think the IT department spent millions of dollars and several years rewriting your application.

OpenLayer is the most cost effective alternative to replacing or rewriting your existing applications. Contact us for an on-line demo and see for yourself.