Web architectures and cloud computing provide a tremendous opportunity for evolution and innovation

By Marcus Cake • August 13, 2009

I just watched a presentation at Gartner called SOA, the Web and the Cloud: Big Decisions about Application Architecture. I encourage you to view the original presentation. It highlights the tremendous opportunity to evolution and innovation by applying Web architectures and cloud computing to the way applications are designed. I will try to outline some of those principles for the non-technical below and then outline the importance of these principles in applying key elements of a Web 3.0 online network to economic development.

Architecture and application design

The internet is a network of computers. This network of computers talk to each other using a common language called TCP/IP.
The largest software “application” in the world is the Web. The “Web” is a reference to software and that allows documents (and now other media) to be exchanged by HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol).
“Through 2015, nothing will affect application design more than the Web and cloud computing combination” - Gartner
If you are designing software, you need to incorporate global class design, global class architecture, global class scalability for a potential global audience. The web is the largest application in the world with the largest number of users. Every application should be designed to work with the largest possible audience.
Service Oriented Architecture and Web Oriented Architecture is a reference to each computer on the network providing a service to any other computer in a simple, minimalist way to other computers on the network. The service provided by a computer could be technical like storing data in a database, or a real service like Amazon delivering a book on behalf of a small book seller in New Zealand. The more independent the application, the greater the potential audience for the “service” that can be called by computers on the internet.
The ability to share information is paramount. The more traditional approach is process focussed and sharing is difficult. The web focussed on an architecture based upon content. The addresses provide immediate access to content through addresses.
The next generation of the internet provides applications that provide narrow functionality that can be shared or combined through a specific address (similar to a URL for web pages). These can be used by any system within the world. For example, there is one application to arrange delivery of a book. The application is provided by Amazon book store.
The internet will increasingly use a smaller set of generic applications that provide a tremendous opportunity for expansion, evolution and innovation. We need to minimise addresses, identifiers, file formats and operations/actions.
The “Web” has moved beyond exchanging text documents, and is now a platform for social, industrial, political and commercial interaction. Complex solutions to diverse problems can be built with Web resources available, rather than proprietary solutions.

Cloud computing

Gartner defines “cloud computing as a style of computing where massively scalable IT-related functions and information are provided as a service using internet technologies, potentially to multiple external customers”.
Cloud Computing extends SOA beyond application to application communication, to exchanges between application, data, business logic and users. This approach destorys technology barriers to entry, minimises investment, decreases switching costs, accelerates innovation and allows third party services to be leveraged instantly to service global and/or immediate demand.
If you need global storage and processing power, any individual can use Amazon Web Services (for US$70 per month) and avoid large capital expenditure.
You can build, deploy and sell applications without having a single server. The challenge is to determine where you get various elements (system infrastructure, Application services and application).
Salesforce.com offer Cloud services - System infrastructure (Integration, Database, Security), Applications services (interface as a service, business logic as a service) and Applications (Saas, Daas, Visualforce UlaaS, AppExchange).
Amazon.com offer Cloud services - System infrastructure (Elastic Computing Cloud, SimpleDB, S3 Storage, Queuing ), Applications services (Alexa search, mechanical turk, Flexible payment services, fulfillment services) and Applications (to sell products through the web).
Google offers Cloud services - System infrastructure (GAE: web site runtime), Application services (Google checkout, AdWords, AdSense, APIs, Gdata APIs) and Application (Google documents, iGoogle, Gadgets, blogs, photos, mail, etc).
Cloud computing is available, scalable, on-demand, modular, interoperable.

Web 3.0 online networks will be:

built using open source technologies maintained by open source communities
deployed on third party clouds to service global audiences
structured around data/content of a community with a common interest
facilitate communication between each participate in the community of common interest
draw upon services provided by other applications called by public addresses. The integration of a Web 3.0 online network with Google Wave, Skype or proprietary enterprise software is an example.
created rapidly by individuals by leveraging third party services