What are the basic elements of a collaborative information system?
TALC asked (and answered) this question in 2004.
The elements are:
- open source - to minimise the hold that proprietary systems may gain in T&L
- open standard - to make all systems interoperable
- open access - to be inclusive and not exclsuive
- secure - at least 256KB encryption (financial sector standard)
- scaleable - able to handle the biggest user group and most complex applications
- industry driven - to really consult with the users before building the solution
- web based - to take advantage of the ubiquitous and cost effective nature of the Interent
- self managed - to allow users to design, customise and add content to their own system
TALC came up with TILIS (acronym time - Totally Intelligent Logistics Inquiry System) and built the platform in DNN (more acronyms - DotNetNuke) as a demonstration site. DNN is the most widely used and respected open source product in the world today. There is a global community fo over 500,000 developers, and over 12,000 modules available through sites such as www.snowcovered.com
The beauty of this apporach is that TILIS is "content free" and provides a great platform for any industry application. It can be used either as (1) an enterprise synthesis engine, (2) an industry web portal or (3) a web site for a small business. It may not actually solve world hunger as well, but it does a good job of meeting most imagined industry situations.
Problem is, TALC built this great mousetrap and the world has not beaten a path to its door. What TALC forgot was that often people will fund a less than optimal solution because they have other interests - egos, financial conflicts, legacy systems, old ways of thinking, territory issues and political considerations. A good technical solution does not always speak for itself.
Still - TILIS is out there and it is being used in small ways to demonstrate the principles described above. It is living proof that such systems can be build, trialled and applied to a range of industrial situations. TALC will persevere. TILIS will prevail.