To Integrate Systems or to Bridge Systems…that is the question

A few years back I started talking about widgetizing CRM and Enterprise applications. Basically, I suggested that interfaces needed to be designed to help get specific jobs done, and to provide them in the proper context (where we work). I still believe this to be a possible future for CRM and Enterprise applications even though the application vendors seem to prefer an all-or-nothing approach to design. The simple fact for knowledge workers is that they don’t hire an entire CRM application; so why are you forcing them to experience what they don’t use and why are you making them pay for it? As I outlined in Re-inventing CRM for the Customer-centric Organization, an á la carte approach to serving various groups within your customer base makes more sense, and would add more value to the relationship.

There is one more concept I’ve been thinking about for a few years that I would like to add to this picture; replacing data integration with silo bridging. Unlike a grain silo, in the data …