Rich Web Applications: the business benefits of Web-enabled application development.

MANAGEMENT SUMMARY

CATALYST

Rich Web Applications (RWAs) are browser-based, Rich Internet Applications (RIAs). They exploit new Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) in browsers that allow users to interact with a page on the Web as they would a desktop application. The conjunction of RWA, Web 2.0 for business (or Enterprise Web 2.0), and evolutionary changes in IT infrastructure like Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), are creating new opportunities for business. Note on terminology: The IT industry uses the terms RIA and RWA interchangeably; however, we make a technical distinction in this Report. RIA applies to any client-server system connected by the Internet, whereas RWA covers a sub-set of RIA that is World Wide Web browser-based.

Key Findings

* RIA will be the default mode in application development as the Internet further progresses its transition from technology to part of the fabric of everyday society.

* RWA and Web 2.0 ideas are being transferred to Enterprise Web 2.0, opening up new business opportunities, such as rapid business process development and reuse.

* Security deficiencies mean that mixing Web services (or mashing) in Enterprise Web 2.0-type applications cannot yet extend safely beyond the firewall.

* Currently, businesses need separate security policies for Internet and Intranet Web services. Intranet Web services must never be risked beyond the firewall and therefore need to be governed.

* The progress of SOA and Business Process Management (BPM) into the enterprise will require presentation-layer applications, for which RWA are ideal.

* RIA will feed into other areas of IT, so that Web-enabled IT products will have richer user interfaces; for example, in Business Intelligence.

* Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) will be given a significant technology enhancement by RWA, making it more attractive to customers.

* RWAs are now on the boundary between early adopter and early mainstream stages.

The Internet is transforming society and business. The current wave of this technology revolution, called Web 2.0, followed the initial wave (Web 1.0) that collapsed with the dot.com boom and bust. Today, 'always-on', pervasive broadband is making access to the Internet easy enough for it to be no longer considered as a 'technology' but a part of the fabric of modern living, like the telephone or television. The key advantages of using the Internet can be summed up as 'always on and everywhere', reachable from mobile devices, laptops, and desktop machines.

Innovations in modern browsers allowed vendors to build the first RWA: applications which could split the application logic between presentation logic that runs on the client-side and business logic and data models that run on the server-side. The rich Web application User Interface (UI) is as 'rich' as in desktop applications, and runs in the browser using a combination of languages. One of the pioneering vendors--Adaptive Systems--called this approach Asynchronous JavaScript And XML (AJAX--although the preferred naming culture is now just Ajax). All modern browsers support JavaScript and this means that with Ajax there is just a small JavaScript rendering engine which is downloaded and held in memory while the application is running.

Today, additional technologies compete with Ajax to provide a similar concept of desktop-like behaviour, but with superior multimedia capabilities--browser plug-ins such as Adobe Flash Player and, the recent entrant to the market, Microsoft Silverlight. In addition, RWA solutions are also possible with the Java platform and with Microsoft .NET Framework version 3.

Business Issues

The Web is increasingly important for business. A measure of how business has turned to this medium is revealed by the latest advertising expenditure figures. They show that for the first time, on-line advertising in the UK has exceeded that of national newspapers, at UK[pounds sterling]2 billion. It is also the fastest growing at 41%, when TV, the highest sector, is showing a small decline. This level of advertising is rewarding UK business with on-line retail revenue earnings of UK[pounds sterling]3.6 billion in 2006 (according to IMRG). Furthermore, the Web is almost the equal to TV in holding on to peoples' time, making it the place to reach out to new and existing consumers. This business activity is just one indication of why the Web is important for business. Businesses need to devise a Web strategy, and the question of using RWA, as well as experimenting with Web 2.0 concepts, should be part of the consideration process. The implications of RWA for business are multi-fold and can be summarised as follows:

* Internal use of RWA for providing the presentation layer to SOA.

* Internal use of RWA for providing the presentation layer in composite applications, such as mixing Web services and other data sources, including enterprise applications and legacy systems.

* Helping re-engineer business processes for rapid reaction to business opportunities.

* Moving application development from silo, departmental activity, to a Web-based one with greater potential for reuse. For example, an internal Software-as-a-Service model.

* New security risks related to RWA that need addressing.

The drivers behind consumer-led Web 2.0 are also relevant to businesses: these concepts are being transferred to what is called 'Enterprise Web 2.0'. Table 1 shows the distinguishing features of Web 2.0, compared with the first wave of Web development, and these include:

* Multimedia content in contrast with document-centric HyperText Markup Language (HTML).

* Facilities for users to upload as well as download; for example, the growth of Flickr, Friends Reunited, MySpace, Wikipedia, and YouTube are all due to user-added content.

* The Internet becomes the 'platform' with mashups that combine Web services to create new applications; for example, Bikely mashes Google maps to help plan bicycle routes, and Zillow mashes maps and real-estate information.

* Applications are no longer constrained by HTML and single-channel response/request; with RIAs a second channel can be used to work in the background, managing data more efficiently between client and server, while the user interacts with the UI.

* Web 2.0 allows a Web strategy to go beyond simply exploiting reach; now Web services and Web applications can be used in unforeseen ways, leading to emergent value.

The move within enterprises to SOA and internal Web services creates opportunities for Intranet mashups, exploiting reuse to good effect and allowing business power users to rapidly respond to business opportunities. With Enterprise Web 2.0, power users can transform and re-combine internal business processes in new ways.

The use of RWA is already evident within the IT industry as, for example, Business Intelligence vendors provide the option of Web access to applications with rich UIs. RWA also improves the SaaS proposition, as application interfaces become comparable to those on the desktop; Butler Group expects to see SaaS adoption increase as a result. SaaS is a software delivery model where the provider offers a hosted application across the Internet. Customers access the application using a Web interface and pay for usage according to various licensing models: per instance use, per allocated time, or on a subscription basis. The use of RWA for the UI offers a considerable way to improve the user experience, making SaaS a more attractive proposition.

The concept of mixing Web services, or mashups, is also an important part of Web 2.0; for example, geo-mapping information is combined with other specialist information to create a new service (e.g. www.housingmaps.com combines Google maps and Craigs List rented accommodation information to visually show rental availability).

However, addressing security is important if these types of applications are to succeed. Businesses need to implement separate policies for Internet and Intranet RWA; Internet exposure of Web services should not take place without strong security and governance in place.

Technology Issues

Software application development is currently going through a transition, extending the most common architecture of multi-tier client/server, to composite applications and RIA. Of course the idea of 'client-side' and 'server-side' remains unchanged in RIA, but the distinction is that traditional client/server systems are separated by Local Area Networks and/or Wide Area Networks, whereas with RIA the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) protocol is used, whether on the Internet or Intranet. Composite applications are built from components, objects, and Web services within a loosely-coupled, standardised application environment created by SOA. RIAs provide a natural presentation layer for applications built within SOA.

The types of RIA fall into three main categories: browser-based with no plug-ins; browser-based with plug-ins; and out-of-browser. Butler Group uses the term 'RWAs' to refer to browser-based RIAs. The open literature uses RIA and RWA interchangeably in an unclear manner without distinguishing the possibility for non-Web-related protocols that could be used on TCP/IP. However, the market at the moment is active mainly with RWA.

Browser-based Applications