Corporate users will increasingly combine traditional enterprise software with online capabilities to create composite applications, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said today.....Looks like Bill Gates is talking about MashUps of a new kind, Where enteprise data (from / within enteprise software) is integrated with other Apps (Consumer / Online / Web Based)....Enterprise Mashups...The way of the future according to BillyG.

Gates spoke (Convergence Annual Conference ) more general terms about the ongoing coming together of the "structured" world of financial and human resources applications with elements of the Internet world, including the ability to do "mashups" -- the blending of data and tools from different sources.

We don't think there'll be a huge swing to one model at the expense of the other," Gates said in response to questions previously collected from Convergence attendees. On-premise software will continue to have an appeal, with software hosting proving more popular with smaller companies, he added.Looking ahead, Gates said Microsoft is working on a "missing piece of software" that would use rules to determine how to respond to people trying to contact an individual. Instead of sending out a generic "out of the office" message, the software would instead use the caller's identity to determine how to answer the call.Gates also demonstrated a workday in the future, using technology under development by Microsoft Research on a stage rigged out in three sections to resemble a home, an office and an airport lounge.At home, he accessed a large wall-hung touch screen containing a mix of family and work information, including a combined calendar and data on where family members were, using GPS devices. The screen also displayed news feeds, and after identifying a story of particular interest, Gates was able to track its development via his mobile and office computing devices.

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Prashanth Rai