The essence of an application
Once upon a time, information technology was strictly about — well, information. And by “information” what was meant was “data”.* An application boiled down to a database design, plus a straightforward user interface, in whatever the best UI technology of the day happened to be. Things rarely worked quite as smoothly as the design-database/press-button/generate-UI propaganda would have one believe, but database design was clearly at the center of application invention.
*Not coincidentally, two of the oldest names for “IT” were data processing and management information systems.
Eventually, there came to be three views of the essence of IT:
- Data — i.e., the traditional view, still exemplified by IBM and Oracle.
- People empowerment — i.e., Microsoft-style emphasis on UI friendliness and efficiency.
- Operational workflow — i.e., SAP-style emphasis on actual business processes.
Graphical user interfaces were a major enabling technology for that evolution. Equally important, relational databases made some difficult problems easy(ier), freeing application designers to pursue more advanced functionality.
Based on further technical evolution, specifically in analytic and consumer technologies, I think we should now take that list up to five. The new members I propose are:
- Investigative analytics.
- Emotional response.