There are three major success factors for the use of business ­mashups. First of all is the agility: mashups enable fast or ad hoc responses to new requirements and the flexibilization of processes. If data must be recombined or processes must be adapted, the platform offers the tools for the immediate response. Second, mashups promote innovation because they utilize the creativity of the company’s employees. The people who know the corporate processes best, the employees, are frequently left out of the picture during the conduct of IT projects. Mashups involve employees right in the optimization process and ­reduce the hurdles for employee-driven innovation. Third, mashups provide relief for the IT department, which is otherwise the primary service provider for all development projects. Every IT department has a long waiting list of application modifications, some more, some less extensive, which it is unable to implement because of a lack of resources. Mashups open up breathing room so that the IT department can concentrate on complex projects which require a high level of professional competence.   

A number of challenges precede the fascination of mashups   

Can mashups really do all of this? The idea of the mashups appears fascinating to many. But there is also a suspicion that the high expectations will be fulfilled only when powerful products have proven their suitability and companies have created a secure framework for the use of the mashups. This requires producers and users to face up to a number of challenges.   Security of access is one example. Since mashups access confidential corporate data, the identity of the users must be strictly corroborated and their authorization carefully controlled, ­especially during mobile access via the Internet. A well-constructed SOA ecosystem is the foundation for this. If normal users and not only experienced programmers are to be able to create mashups, the designer software must have a high level of support functions and intelligence.  

Creativity is both a blessing and a curse. One must be prepared to find the creation of a simple mashup leading to an over­whelming flood of modified mashups. A company must introduce rules and create structures just as it would for classic development processes. The balance must be struck between ­creativity which furthers innovation and structuring governance.   Mashups virtually cry out for version control. Anyone who has ever compared controlling figures from various sources knows the problem. Which figures are correct? What is causing the deviations? Modified mashups can have a comparable effect, which is why strict control of versions and documentation of the modifications are required.