application [delivery] platform

Internet is maturing and moving to the next phase.

Technologies such as AJAX (AJAX is not really a technology, rather a technique), Adobe Flash, Flex and OpenLaszlo are transforming the Internet from platform to carry information (WWW) and deliver services such as email and file transfer to a full fledged application delivery platform. Internet is becoming a platform delivering applications (Rich Internet Applications) and the browser is becoming the platform for the user interface.

This concept has redefined the traditional view of application and their delivery. It also has redefined the development and maintenance of applications. Applications are not just a piece of software you buy as a CD and install and use it in your PC any more. The concepts of software as a service and Internet as an application platform both have powered each other and has turned the the concept of application on it' head.

Classic examples are the new Yahoo mail [which looks and function like a desktop based email client] and Google services such as online spreadsheet and word processing. There are plenty of other Rich Internet application examples. But these two clearly demonstrate the transition of traditional desktop application based functionality to online functionality.

There are several browser-based "operating systems" or "online desktops" are also starting to appear. But these have to mature a little bit more.

Contrary to popular belief, Internet as an application platform is NOT as same as Web 2.0. Internet as an application platform enabled the delivery of Web-based applications and desktops and Rich Internet applications which are part of Web 2.0.