Consumer and business apps begin to blur due to Web 2.0

The shift from on-premise software to Web 2.0 or hosted software is a blurring of the lines between consumer and enterprise software that, if not surprising, is certainly faster than expected.

This is not quite the same as the consumerization of enterprise software. That phenomenon describes the fact that as workers come back into the office after playing on their home computer, they are beginning to expect more from their business applications. They want the same simplicity and ease of use. After all, consumer applications, by their very definition, have to be fun and easy to use, and they must offer a tangible benefit, be it hours of enjoyment from a game or a cool way to organize music, video, and family photos.

But the shift to Web 2.0 applications goes beyond workers wanting the same kind of capabilities built into their business software as they have in their home applications. Thanks to the accessibility of online apps, we are witnessing the corporate world swallowing whole the best of consumer software, many times without modification. Nothing says this more than two recent deals between enterprise ISVs and Facebook.

One ISV will make the official announcement next week, and I am not at liberty to name them. The other company, WorkLight, a provider of software development platforms, announced the integration of Facebook with its application.

The questions are, Where will this end, and what does it mean?

For one, I think the instant popularity of Facebook has opened the eyes of more forward-thinking corporate executives to new possibilities.

For example, the common complaint among many sales executives is that they could not get their sales force to use CRM software. Salespeople traditionally resisted filling out the forms and logging in to hard-to-use programs just to satisfy the needs of some vice president of sales and marketing and his staff. Also, the idea of collaborating with colleagues outside of the immediate team is not something that happens often in the corporate world. Now, thanks to Web 2.0, the companies will have a way to solve these kinds of problems.

Where will it lead?

For better or worse, I think it erodes the line between work and home life.

I had a colleague who always resented going out for drinks after work with his boss and coworkers. He said he didn’t like mixing his work beer with his home beer. Unfortunately for him and others, those beers are getting quite mixed. Also, if you’re using Facebook at home and your profile is available in the office, too, doesn’t that help eliminate any separation between who you are as a professional and who you are at home?

I’m not sure that we will ever see SAP put a Guitar Hero Wii interface into R3, but thanks to the growing availability of hosted consumer and business applications, a faster adoption of easier-to-use and more intuitive interfaces will lead to greater office productivity.