"CIO Insight" magazine did a recent survey of 240 CIO's on which new technologies will boost revenue for their companies.

And guess what? Rich Internet Applications(RIA) ranked as Number 2 (23.6%), right after SOA (23.9%).

Last year, I had mentioned in an interview with Dr. Dobbs about RIA as the low hanging fruit for the enterprises to embrace Web 2.0 for business benefits. Jeffrey Hammond of Forrester Research mentioned in a keynote address at WebBuilder 2.0 last December that for enterprises to endorse Web 2.0, the future is now. He also mentioned that 32% of the enterprises surveyed by Forrester were using or considering RIA. Therefore, the CIO Insight survey showing RIA as second highest in priority to boost revenue does not come as a surprise.

Curl's RIA Platform has been used by over 300 enterprises and many have shown quantitative benefits to their business, over the client-server applications. The requirements to use RIA at the enterprise level is very different and much more stringent. They are looking for industrial-strength attributes such as high performance, extreme reliability, very high security, and big-time scalability. I recently blogged about what questions companies need to ask RIA vendors. Just getting a Flash video stream is not good enough for business-critical applications.

Earlier this year, Curl was awarded the best RIA Platform by InfoWorld. The proof is always with real deployment and benefits by customers.

Mike Vizard of eWeek refers to this survey in his recent blog. He covered the importance of RIA and mentioned Curl as a vendor to watch last December.
When it comes to Enterprise RIA, Curl clearly is the defacto leader.

A recent Forrester research paper by Stefan Ried examines how new RIA Ajax based applications are being accepted in the business community.

Stefan notes that "a great user experience is one of the most compelling and important characteristics of a modern business application." As Ajax based business applications are becoming more common his research shows that their interfaces tend to frustrate powers users. Power users are used to high performance extremely interactive client-server applications and are easily frustrated by Ajax based applications.

Stefan details a list of Ajax's shortcomings as a platform for enterprise business applications. These include slow performance, inability to deal with large complex displays and inconsistency between browser platforms.

To all you Ajax folks who have experienced these shortcomings first hand, you should check out Curl! Curl offers the high performance of client-server applications, easily handles complex displays with large datasets and runs on Windows, Linux , Mac.

Richard

Why is an Enterprise RIA Platform different? Simple - It must handle the demands of enterprise class applications.
Based on Curl's experience with large enterprise deployments at companies such as Panasonic, Toyota
and Sony we find enterprise demands are focused in the following areas:

• Large datasets that demand high client-side performance;
• Complicated operations that require superior user interface design;
• Data visualization that requires high performance client-side graphics;
• Large scale deployments with thousands of users worldwide that require performance that scales;
• Complex applications that demand a development environment that scales to hundreds of thousands of lines of code.

Large Datasets

Enterprise applications routinely require interaction with very large data sets. This means that web application must be optimized to deliver high response times even when data sets approach 100,000+ records. In an independent study Curl has proven to be 70% faster that Adobe Flex when loading large data sets.

Nippon Sheet Glass Co. is an example of the need for high performance. Nippon Sheet Glass is a leading provider of industrial glass products. The pricing and configuration of these glass products is highly complex. The
application handles as many as 99 different pricing scenarios with various sizes and patterns and large data sets with up to 5000 transactions with up to 10,000 items per transaction.

Superior User Interface Design

The emergence of Web 2.0 technologies and the iPhone experience have shown that great user interface design makes a big difference. Now more than ever enterprises are realizing that user interface design can reap great returns though process improvement and employee productivity.

Using Curl a large electronics manufacturer was able reduce procurement times for their video cameras by 5 days which
amounted to a huge savings. This was possible by making previously serial processes asynchronous demanding superior
user interfaces to handle that complexity intuitively.

DataVisualization

Many enterprise applications drive timely decisions through the use of effective data visualization of complex
data. This often requires high performance rendering of complex objects.
Curl uses the native graphics capability of the client hardware for maximum performance. You can see first
hand by trying one of our demo applications that does real-time ray-tracing.

Paisley has become a recognized market leader in the fast-growing governance, risk and compliance (GRC) sector by offering
clearly superior solutions. Quality, analytics and reporting are most important in choosing a governance, risk and compliance solution. Using Curl, Paisley’s solution offers a high-performance, sophisticated reporting capability that clearly differentiates their offering. You can read the complete case study here.

Large Scale Deployments

Enterprise RIA deployments must scale to service thousands of users. With Curl much of the application processing occurs on the client which means that the server loads are much lower as the number of users increases. In many Curl enterprise deployments only a single server is required even as the application is delivered to thousands of users.

This is the case with Panasonic’s Voice of the Engineer (VOE) application. The VOE application provides comprehensive support data on Panasonic’s products for their support engineers as they help customers with product problems. The application is used by all Panasonic engineers in Japan and will soon expand to worldwide use.

Complex Applications

Many enterprise applications must deal with complex business logic, many functional elements and large numbers of screens. These complex applications often require hundreds of thousands of lines of code. The complexity of such applications can easily overwhelm development efforts using simple AJAX tools.

The Curl language combines the descriptive and active elements found in traditional web-development tools with the strength of a full-featured object-oriented programming language. The language spans the full range of requirements, from simple text markup and GUI layout to heavy-duty object-oriented computing. This means more capability is provided with fewer lines of code lowering development and maintenance costs.

Richard

That last keynote at WEBBuilder 2.0 featured Jeffrey Hammond speaking about key trends in Web2.0 adoption in the enterprise. There was lots of really interesting data that makes the compelling case that 2008 will be THE infection point in the adoption of Web2.0 in the enterprise. Regarding Web2.0 adoption Jeffrey's message was clear:

"The Future is NOW"

Through his research and discussion with clients and vendors he predicts a "perfect storm" as changes in workforce, software, business process and design collide.

One of the key drivers is 70-80% of GenYers create content and use Internet and mobile apps in all their interactions - virtual and real. As they enter the work force their expectations of a productive environment will drive change faster then ever before. Some other interesting points.

• 47% of surveyed CIOs see Web2.0 as more than a passing fad
• 70-80% GenXers and GenYers are creators of content as compared to only 12% for Boomers
• 1 out of 12 employees is blogging
• The Web has brought people closer - In his research Jeffrey uses Linkedin and he has never looked up a person that was less than 3 degrees away. Remember the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon...
• Web2.0 is is creating the 4th major programming model - Dynamic applications - these are assembled "just in time" Mashups from parts that are ready to use. This is the process savvy mashup.
• 32% of enterprises are using or considering RIA

All in all there is a lot of positive trends that say it will be a good year for RIA adoption and Curl.

I asked Jeffery to send me the slides and will follow-up with a more thoughtful post after the conference.

Richard

Today, we announced the availability of of Curl 6.0, the latest release of our development and deployment platform for Richer Internet Applications. Here's the announcement:

Curl Announces Version 6.0 of Rich Internet Application Development Platform

Newest version helps enterprise RIA developers create modern user interfaces and build mashups

Cambridge, MA - November 19, 2007 - Curl, Inc. today announced Version 6.0 of its Curl Rich Internet Application (RIA) platform, which makes it easier for developers to build enterprise-class RIAs. The new release includes significantly expanded user interface styling capabilities, enabling developers to provide a fresh, modernized look and feel, along with an engaging end-user experience for any Curl-based application. Additionally, Version 6.0 enables new kinds of enterprise mashups that integrate JavaScript and Curl APIs.

“Our focus on the enterprise has enabled us to see the specific pain points that organizations face when developing their most mission-critical, sophisticated, Web-based applications,” said Bert Halstead, vice president and chief architect, Curl. “With powerful new look and feel options and the ability to build mashups incorporating JavaScript components, the most powerful platform in the RIA industry continues to bring enterprises the tools they need to address their challenges head-on.”

Key features of Version 6.0 of the Curl platform include:

• Skinning Package – This provides new appearance options for controls, including drop shadows, custom images, gradients, and rounded corners. In addition, the new version includes a predefined style sheet and skin that can be used to instantly give Curl applications a modernized look.
• Advanced Rendering APIs – Curl 6.0 provides convenient access to advanced features such as antialiasing and alpha blending.
• AJAX Interoperability Features – Curl applications can now make calls to JavaScript APIs in the surrounding Web page, and can also be controlled from JavaScript in the surrounding page. Support for parsing and creating data streams in JSON format is included as well. With these features, Curl can be used to build mashups that include data accessed using existing JavaScript APIs.
• Server Interoperability Features – With this, Curl provides a server-side Java package that can be used to access data on the server using the Curl serialization format.

“Rich Internet Application technologies have demonstrated their value in the enterprise, and major vendors are now competing for this growing market,” said Richard Monson-Haefel, senior analyst, Burton Group. “Curl is an excellent option for any enterprise considering RIA technologies. In addition to providing common UI widgets and other controls, Curl surpasses many RIA solutions in terms of richness by providing a solid foundation on which to build extremely sophisticated graphics to visually represent very large sets of data.”

While Curl has brought several new enhancements to its RIA platform, Version 6.0 will continue to provide many of the same attributes that have already made Curl the choice for more than 300 enterprise customers:

• Supports a wide range of Windows platforms, as far back as Windows 98, as well as Linux and Mac OS X.
• Exhibits the highest run-time performance and the most compact application sizes of any RIA platform.
• Enables effective software development by means of the Curl content language that supports text markup, graphics, scripting, and high-performance object-oriented computing, all in one integrated framework.
• Supports thousands of APIs such as charts, controls, record sets, animated 2D and 3D graphics, internationalization, and much more.
• Provides a comprehensive Integrated Development Environment (IDE), which includes a drag-and-drop visual layout editor, debugger, performance profiler, interactive documentation, deployment tool, and much more.

Curl Version 6.0 is currently available for download at http://www.curl.com/download/index.php.

Business Intelligence(BI) has been a growth segment in the Enterprise software space during last decade. The recent acquisitions of Hyperion (by Oracle) and Business Objects (by SAP) show their importance also. BI has been the front-end to the Data Warehousing efforts at large enterprises. Most of the BI vendors provide query and reporting to enterprise databases (inside the firewall) on pre-formatted screens on a desktop. They are deployed on a client-server architecture with very little flexibility for the user to change the look and feel or the contents visualization aspects.

Now comes two challenges. The first area is the use of "search" as a new metaphor, where context-specific search to the Internet cloud can be made to complement the current BI scope. For example, a customer might want to see latest price changes made to a competitive product while looking at their own product movement in the market to explain a dip in sales.

The second area is this notion of "Interactive Visualization". Kurt Schlegel of Gartner Group has described this phenomenon in a research report (dated 7/6/2007) as follows:

"Interactive visualization is a business intelligence (BI) platform capability that enables the display and understanding of multidimensional data, provides a wide array of visualization chart types, and enables users to accomplish traditional data exploration tasks by making charts interactive. Interactive visualization, which has been used primarily in the scientific and engineering communities, will be widely adopted to explore traditional business data during the next few years."

Curl platform is used by many traditional business customers to do precisely this form of interactive visualization. The basic architecture of compiling code on the client hardware makes it very efficient and capable of handling large volumes of data. Also the vast number of built-in functions enables rapid development. Many customers are using this Interactive Visualization as a key competitive differentiation for market success.

Here's the press release we issued this morning announcing the Open Source initiatives we've undertaken. You can access these projects here in the Developer Community from the navigation bar on the left side of the main pages or from the Browse menu on the toolbar at the top of every page.

Curl Announces Open Source Strategy for Enterprise Rich Internet Application Platform

Curl’s Open Source Code Gives Developers Necessary Components to Support Rapid RIA Development

Cambridge, MA – October 30, 2007 – Curl®, Inc. today announced its plans to release a significant body of code for the Curl Rich Internet Application (RIA) platform to the open source community. As the first step in its open source strategy, Curl will broaden its development platform and empower the Curl developer community by establishing a common repository of open source component libraries. As a result, developers will have all of the components required to support rapid development of enterprise-class RIAs. Curl’s Open Source projects are provided under the Apache V2.0 License and hosted by SourceForge.

“Enterprise developers increasingly demand access to open source software, and this trend is even stronger with Web-based technologies such as Rich Internet Applications,” said Bert Halstead, vice president and chief architect, Curl. “It’s important to provide this community with tools and components that support the rapid development of Curl-based applications. We are excited about how this initiative can catalyze the growth of the Curl platform as well as the entire enterprise RIA industry.”

As part of its first step to support open source technology initiatives, Curl has established three open source projects, which include the following:

• bq. Web Services Development Kit (WSDK) – This provides components enabling the development of Curl applications that make use of web services such as SOAP/WSDL and an XML document model. The WSDK was originally released in 2004. Since then, there have been several maintenance releases, the last of which was in fall 2006. With this Curl Open Source project, the WSDK becomes available under an open source license, with ongoing development transitioned to the Curl Open Source project.Web Services Development Kit
• bq. Curl Data Kit (CDK) – This library facilitates data-centric application development in Curl. It features support for client-side SQLite databases, which is the same standard supported by Adobe AIR and Google Gears. Using the CDK library, a Curl application can store and retrieve data using SQLite and is an important foundation for Curl occasionally connected computing (OCC) applications. This project was under active development by Curl engineering and solutions teams, and has transitioned to a Curl Open Source project.
• bq. Curl Development Utilities (CDU) – This provides functions supporting application development, including unit testing and project development. CDU aims to establish a foundation for good practices, by consolidating techniques used in existing projects, as these infrastructural components are used by both the WSDK and CDK projects.Curl’s Rich Internet Application platform is available in base and pro versions. The base versions of each are free and offer a real alternative to developers creating web applications that require rich interactive interfaces. The pro versions enhance the base versions with additional security, performance and maintainability features for enterprise class applications.

“The demand for RIA technologies has really taken off within the enterprise, and we anticipate the continued contributions by technology providers in this space to further expedite their broad adoption,” said Brad Shimmin, principal analyst, application infrastructure with Current Analysis. “These types of initiatives showcase a true commitment to the open source developer community and will ultimately contribute to the long-term success of RIA initiatives.”

As part of its continued commitment to the Curl development community, Curl plans to create additional Open Source projects in the future. For up-to-date information on the Curl Open Source strategy, please visit the Curl Developer Center, a forum for valuable educational resources and links to an extended community of Curl developers.