So what is a Mash UP – l bet it’s got nothing to do with potatoes?
The term MASH UP has several meanings. It is the term for..
When unplugged from ipods our teenagers will tell us that a mashup describes songs that mesh two different styles of music into one song for example, a classic rock song merged with a well-known hip-hop beat
The term as also been extended to describe videos that have been compiled using different clips from multiple sources.
In web development, a mashup is a Web application that combines data or functionality from two or more sources into a single web page of blocks of information or even other websites clipped into the page. Sources can be (and often are) from third parties using web services. A good example is the myairNZ website which allows members to organise their own page by moving and placing objects such as those containing booking and airpoints and place them on the page (also known as canvas) exactly where the individual airpoints member likes to see them.
So how did we get to this point?
A short history. Originally all interfaces between applications were specified and developed which huge requirements for time and expense. A template approach was developed and called Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) to communicate orders between very large organisations — typically supermarkets and their suppliers. EDI interfaces are expensive and typically involve specific programming interfaces. With the advent of the Web , application programme interfaces (API) were developed to set up and communicate more easily between different applications. Web services share business logic, data and processes through a programmatic interface across a network. The applications interface with each other, not with the users.
Developers can now add the Web service to a Graphical User Interface (GUI) such as a Web page or an executable program offering specific functionality to users to personalise and customise their own web based screens. Users of iPhones and other smart phones now expect to be able to see and deploy multiple applications in their everyday business application page.
I really only use my computer for work. What does that mean to me?
Web services' distributed computing model allows application-to-application communication. For example, Epicor purchase-and-ordering application can communicate to a supplier’s non Epicor inventory application that specific items need to be reordered. Our personal needs are now included as a display on a website for example indicating Melbourne traffic flows and the weather in Sydney can also be alongside the usual inventory data on the same screen. Because of this level of application integration allowing never seen before personal preferences included as standard, Web services have grown in popularity and are beginning to improve business processes.
Is this really a big deal?
Yes it is. Some are calling Web services the next evolution of the Web because the power to personalise is now devolved to end users.
The growth in popularity and use of APIs across the Web illustrate how rapidly Web services are spreading, even as technical issues such as security and authentication are worked out by standards bodies.
This capability to mix and match data and applications from multiple sources into one dynamic entity is considered by many to represent the promise of the Web service standard (also referred to as on-demand computing).
Is all the new mashup technology in my Epicor application?
Epicor ERP is a leading solution developed with True SOA, 100% web service enabled and full Mash Up capabilities, meaning you can mash up any information from your Epicor solution as you require it through a standard tool set allowing a low total cost of ownership and a ability to do business without technology barriers.
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