Comments on: SAP’s Project Muse – new UI

By: Venture Chronicles

Venture Chronicles — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 23:57:49 +0000

[...] The enthusiasm over AJAX has definitely reached a fever pitch, it reminds me of the snake oil salesmen in the old west who could not find an illness their firewater wouldn’t cure. Dion does a great service in reminding people that success with AJAX is dependent on having a good foundation in place, and in understanding a few things about developing apps from services. Also worth pointing out that there are a range of tools that can be utilized to build rich clients, Flash and Flex being alternatives. Ajax Approaches Abound: Which One Is Right For You? (web2.wsj2.com): Then there’s the issue that browsers just aren’t as capable computing platforms as formal operating systems. This gives us the important constraint the creating great Ajax software still requires above average architecture, design, and development skills. As I’ve written before, Ajax isn’t for Web designers (yet), and requires some assistance from a server development team as well to build (or increasingly, find) usable Web services that will do what’s needed. Technorati Tags: ajax, flash, flex Posted in Innovation || [...]

By: Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 16:25:40 +0000

yeah, that’s a real concern. On the other hand, some internal competition among various product groups could be a good thing in this area. I also tend to think that Muse is going to be a focal point for new app development while the other options (from Duet to scripting) will be used as “context” for layered applications. There are a number of older products that should just stay the same from the standpoint of continuity and ensuring that our customers aren’t being penalized with a training and support cost just to get a better looking UI.

By: Thomas Otter

Thomas Otter — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 16:19:06 +0000

Indeed. this is a big change from a couple of years ago when the view seemed to be everything should be in the portal.

I think the internal challenge will be deciding what to build with which, and the tougher job of explaining this to the customers. It will need some strong solution management and link to consulting and partners.

I like the choice, but worry somewhat about gui anarchy….

By: Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 13:58:59 +0000

I think we need to offer a range of UI options; if all we were offering was Duet or Muse I would be critical but the stuff I’m seeing in Labs around Ruby offers much to be enthusiastic about. Even the good ‘ol SAP GUI is being enhanced and will run in Firefox and Safari now, meaning extensions and greasemonkey scripts are possibilities.

The marketplace is asking for a richer client experience than what browsers alone are offering, which is clearly the driver behind AJAX right now. Flash/Flex are just other ways of delivering this.

By: Thomas Otter

Thomas Otter — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 07:20:22 +0000

Jeff,
what do you make of the fact that this isn’t browser based? Both Muse and Duet suggest a move away from the browser Ã¼ber alles, and the thin client dogma that pervades much of the enterprise space. Both UI offer a richer experience than a thin client model.

I rambled a bit about it here a few weeks ago before Muse eas announced .http://theotherthomasotter.wordpress.com/2006/05/16/musical-puns-invade-enterprise-software-first-duet-now-harmony/