Note: This is the second post in my Freedom within a Framework series, which is about enabling the coexistence of enterprise and opportunistic applications. You can read the introductory post here.

As I stated in my introductory post, I believe that it is possible to achieve a balance between the need for stability in enterprise applications, and the need for quick and agile innovation in opportunistic applications. They key to this balance lies is in determining where the domain of control for IT can safely transition into a environment of open access to information. This is a “line of demarcation” that allows for a clean separation of certain types of applications. The best way to picture this concept is to imagine a line on an X-axis, with control of technology at the left side, and anarchy at the right. “Command and Control IT” typically lives as close to the left as is possible, while the world of “consumer-driven IT” lives quite far to the right. There are opposed to be sure, but it is possible for IT to reconcile these differences and foster both sides by creating a shared understanding around which classes applications should be enterprise-class and which can and should be treated as opportunistic.

Another way to visualize this concept is with the “Long Tail,” which is depicted in Figure 1 below. The “Long Tail” was a term coined by Chris Anderson in Wired Magazine to describe how the business models of companies like Amazon or Netflix enables them to profitably offer a wider range of goods and services than traditional organizations. The concept (also referred to as a heavy-tail or Pareto distribution) is a well-known statistical occurrence where a high-frequency population (depicted by the region in green below) is followed by a very long low-frequency population that gradually diminishes in area (or “tails off”). In many cases, the long tail portion of the graph, colored in yellow below, can actually represent the majority of the area under the line in the graph, even though the frequency is lower along that portion of the line than it is in the green area.

Figure 1 - The Long Tail

When applied to Amazon and Netflix, this concept is used to illustrate that organizations with powerful distribution channels can make just as much or more selling ten copies each of 10,000 obscure books as they could selling 100,000 copies of one best-selling book. The application to many organizations is just as powerful when information is the product. Assume for a moment that the green portion of the graph represents enterprise-class applications with a large internal user base and the “long tail” or yellow portion represents opportunistic applications with a much smaller number of users. This is depicted in figure 2 below.

Figure 2 - The Long Tail for Applications

In this scenario, the “long tail” theory argues that an organization could serve more users with several hundred opportunistic applications than it does with a small number of enterprise-class applications, but at a much lower cost. Thus, a “long tail” model can enable an information-driven organization to serve its customer base effectively without greatly increasing the cost of software delivery. Such a model does so by enabling the kinds of opportunistic development which most IT organizations would likely never have the bandwidth or justification to pursue because they are applications which are tactical in nature and which may only serve a small number of users.

While a “Long Tail” mindset enables us to create a clear line of demarcation, simply classifying one type of application or information set as enterprise and another as opportunistic isn’t enough. It is entirely possible for IT to pursue this demarcation with good intentions, and then stifle innovation by requiring that all applications, including opportunistic ones, be developed using only one type of platform or programming language. Thus, another key to creating “Freedom within a Framework” is that IT must give up as much control as is possible, while at the same time recognizing the assets and information over which the enterprise should retain control. In my next post, I’ll discuss the concept of an IFaP architecture which, I believe, provides a powerful architecture for enabling open innovation while, at the same time, providing IT with a framework to manage its information assets.

The Microsoft Architecture Journal has been one of my favorite print periodicals lately. The articles are top-notch, relevant and very well-written. If you don’t have a subscription, I would highly recommend it, even if you’re not in an MS shop. Yes, there is a Microsoft bent, but there are also some gems that, I feel, have been universally relevant.

I noticed in Simon Guest’s blog this morning, that Microsoft has released an Architecture Journal Reader that provides digital access to all thirteen issues of the journal, with search, favorites, annotation, etc. I’ve already downloaded it and It will be nice to have all of that information closer at hand. You can download a beta of the reader here, and go check out Simon’s post here.

In my last post, I spoke briefly about posting from time to time on the topic of technology that plays a role in fighting poverty. I figured that a good place to start with would be the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program, probably the most notable example of such. There’s not much I can say about this highly-publicized program that hasn’t already been said or written elsewhere, so I’ll just share a couple of resources I have come across recently.

For starters, Ivan Krstic, the Director of Security Architecture for OLPC gave a great talk on the technical ins and outs of the XO Laptop at Google back in April. You can check it out here. It’s an hour long, but worth a watch. (Thanks for Phil for pointing this out to me).

Of course, the biggest news in the XO Laptop department is the Give 1 Get 1 Program, which officially begins at 6 AM Eastern tomorrow. (BTW, the OLPC news site is a great resource for exactly that) The gist of the program is this: You pay $399 for two XO Laptops. You get one and the other is sent to a child in a developing country. T-Mobile has jumped into this promotion by throwing in a year of free T-Mobile Hot Spot access for the donor and EA is graciously donating the original Sim City to be included on all of the laptops.

Professionally, I am interested in Give 1 Get 1 because it seems to have potential to enhance the 1-to-1 model of child sponsorship that Compassion has held to for over 50 years. Imagine the impact of a sponsor purchasing one of these laptops, then designating that the other be delivered as a gift to his or her child. I don’t know if this is possible, probable or neither at this point, but I have contacted Ivan Krstic to ask and I am at least looking forward to hearing a bit more on OLPCs future plans for partnering with international non-profits that have similar goals to OLPC.

If you haven’t seen or read much about the program yet, I would encourage you to go check it out. The work that OLPC is doing is pretty amazing on several fronts: they are pushing the hardware and software envelope, all while providing affordable technology with the goal of improving education and peer learning. I, for one, am excited to continue to watch the program and its impact evolve.

I haven’t blogged much about technology as it relates to eliminating global poverty, mainly because it’s hard for me to do so without talking about the organization for which I work. As has been discussed in the past by Todd Biske, James McGovern and others, corporate bloggers have to be careful to separate our own opinions and stances from those of our organization. Thus, it makes it tricky to talk much about our employers in much detail.

However, I think that putting a gag on myself regarding all issues related to global poverty is a bit extreme. Furthermore, I think that I’m in a reasonable position as an Enterprise Architect working for a non-profit that serves nearly one million children in poverty around the world to try to bring to bear a technology and EA perspective that is shaped by using those tools in that fight against poverty.

I think it’s a perspective that is needed, mainly because some people that I encounter in the EA space are surprised to hear that my organization has any kind of IT organization, much less one with an Enterprise Architecture group. I believe a common assumption is that when the main concern is the bottom line and profit, innovative and mature IT is acceptable, if not vital. The unspoken subtext, of course, is that non-profits have no business dealing with (too much) technology strategy and innovation because we do not deal in profit or competitive advantage (I actually think we do deal in competitive advantage, just not in the way you might think… more on that another day). However, a robust and healthy IT organization that is fully aligned to its business is even more important in the non-profit world, simply because the stakes are higher. Not in terms of profits and jobs, but in terms of lives and quality of life. And I honestly don’t think that I am dramatizing the issue here, though please chime in if you think I am. I am quite passionate about the subject and might need a cooler head from time to time.

I enjoy the fact that James McGovern increasingly uses his blog to raise our awareness about poverty and to influence others to give to worthy causes. My desire is to add a dimension to my own blog that takes a step beyond “knowing“ and “giving” to what we are “doing” with technology in the name of wiping out poverty around the globe. And not just in my organization, either. I think that there are many organizations and individuals out there doing amazing things with technology where the benefit is not a  personal bonus or a shareholder dividend; it is a child who can read and write, a mother who can start a business to feed her family, or a saved life.

Thus, I plan to, from time to time, post articles, links and thoughts under the banner of “Using Technology to Fight Poverty.” I might even, on occasion, discuss the work my organization is doing because I am sure that there are those out there interested in where we are going with technology. Furthermore, we know that there are thousands of brilliant people involved in technology that already support our cause and would be interested in knowing what more they can do to help us. However, please keep in mind that anything I discuss around these topics is and always will be solely my opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of my employer. That actually goes for anything on my blog, but it bears repeating.

So, keep and eye out for some more posts with this heading. This should be fun…