Enterprise mashups could mean a change in the IT regime, according to The 451 Group. A study finds that 'enterprise guerrilla application development' -- involving applications developed outside IT departments by technically competent information workers -- stands to fundamentally alter the relationship between business units and IT departments.

Analysts at The 451 Group have found that IT departments in industries that have traditionally done a lot of custom software development are straining under the weight of demands from a sophisticated and savvy class of enterprise end users. Consumer Web technologies are changing the expectations of these end users and impelling them toward assembling tightly defined components into lightweight, loosely coupled applications that meet specific business needs.

"End users who used to be wholly dependent on IT will start relying on enterprise mashup platforms in a bid to be more self-sufficient in their application development needs," said Vishwanath Venugopalan, Analyst for Enterprise Software at The 451 Group and author of the report. "IT departments will seek to cede just enough control to empower end users while maintaining a consistent operating environment that adheres to regulatory requirements. Enterprise mashup platform vendors that provide a mix of flexibility and governance in their products will be most successful."

According to 451 analysts, enterprises are currently using mashups as a tactical way of tearing down data barriers created by de facto application silos. Enterprise mashups can feasibly service both critical and noncritical business functions.

"The enterprise mashup market is still nascent," said Venugopalan. "But medium-sized and large enterprises are expected to maintain or increase their activities around enterprise mashups within the next 12 months. Business units will need to take on more responsibility for their application development needs, whereas IT departments will increasingly develop and maintain platforms rather than applications."

About this study

This 58-page report, 'Power to the People -- Could Enterprise Mashups Mean IT Regime Change?" contains an overview of how end users can bring about this change with guerilla application development, the technology and governance issues raised by this mode of application development, and an examination of data from a relevant survey of technology end users.

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