Recently, I was asked via twitter if a particular technology or set of technologies was still relevant. My response was that the technologies were in fact relevant... however, my question was which problems were they solving....?
Often times software companies have a solution in search of a problem or an elegant solution that "only" really works on the fringes of business problems. The recent presentation from Composite Software to the BBBT showed me that Composite is not only elegant technology but relevant to direct business issues.
Out of the Gate
Composite brought one of their clients - Compassion International - to present ( note i believe that this was a first for the BBBT .... ). What Compassion International has been able to accomplish in a two year timeframe with Composite for their BI/DW needs is really amazing. It shows what happens when you remove the "empire building" from the usual Business Unit vs Business Unit; Business vs IT; Everyone vs Finance games that usually cripple the current era of IT implementations... not just BI/DW. I highly recommend that any organization take a look at what they can do when they stop thinking about protecting org charts or budgets and start thinking about what the company is around to do... in this case helping as many children as possible with the available funds.
Composite's solution allows Compassion International to perform some very elegant technology solutions that solve direct business issues. And again, this is accomplished without much of the turf wars of who owns what data, where and how...
Sizzle... and Steak
The initial aspects of the Composite presentation from Compassion were almost too good to be true. Great combination of client and technology.... The second half of the presentation told the BBBT crowd more about what Composite was doing for solutions that may not have been as tailor made... And Composite ( ... in my humble opinion... ) did not disappoint.
