The 'Beat the CEO' Contest

A mashup is the formation of a new application created by combining parts from other applications.   A mashup can include the actual user interface from that application or just its data.

 First, I think Luis did a good job - I don't know if I'd want to be asked that question on national TV...

An "enterprise" mashup is a web application a) built by a non-technical person, b) which consumes enterprise and/or Internet data, and c) which can be discovered and shared with others like a YouTube video can. 

An enterprise mashup is an application developed by anyone in the enterprise that (1) serves a useful purpose for the enterprise, (2) interacts with existing elements within the enterprise, (3) can be easily developed by anyone in the enterprise, and (4) can be shared with others within the enterprise.

Mashup: A combination of two or more web services, each delivering information based on chosen criteria that, when combined, creates a unique dynamic piece of information that would otherwie be difficult to obtain.

This is my candidate definition...

"An enterprise mashup quickly combines the best characteristics of information resources within (and out with) a company to meet the needs of business users and provide a competitive edge.  This evolutionary combination takes the current “fittest” information resources from a multitude of sources and creates (mashes up) a new ephemeral species of "even fitter" information resource which benefits business users.  These mashups are shared amongst business communities to fuel a Darwinian factory of continual business and information innovation, based on mashups and their opportunistic ability to survive the rigours of business “survival of the fittest”.

An enterprise mashup is the innovative process of mixing ingredients at hand to prepare the meal of the day for my family

There are some great answers here! I've also had a few definitions sent to me directly...

MDC member Mike Rollins defined enterprise mashups as:

It's a bit like a data smoothey. You might have one data source that is bananas and another data source that is strawberries. You bring the two together (with the help of a blender and some ice) into something that is different (and perhaps more palatable) than the sum of its parts.

Carnegie Johnson, also an MDC member, said:

An enterprise mashup is like Lego blocks for business. You can think of your data as a Lego block. You can use all different data block shapes and colors to form a mashup and then use that mashup to create other mashups.

Herdy Handoko, a fan of mashups, said:

A product that allows freedom to aggregate multiple source of information while providing a coherent view, for the purpose of solving a particular problem.

Finally, we had a very special guest, Morris Miller (co-founder of Rackspace), define enterprise mashups very thoroughly:

The best way to define a mashup whether enterprise or consumer is with two sentences.  A 'before' sentence and an 'after' sentence and an aha! And what the company can now do about it.  Example:

Enterprise

1.       A company’s accounting system shows $2,000,000 in sold shoes and it’s Customer database shows who purchased the shoes.

2.       A mashup combines this information from these two separate systems so that the company knows exactly which customers bought shoes.

3.       This allows the company to see “Wow! High school coaches are buying these shoes for the entire football team.” or “Oh my gosh! Parents are buying these shoes in the Northeast, but not in the South.”

4.       We need to advertise to high school coaches or We need to see if we can get even more of the Northeast or figure out how to get parents in the South to buy (maybe the colors don’t appeal to the south.) 

Consumer

1.       Google maps knows where I am because of my cell phone GPS and Starbucks or a local coffee shop has listed all of it’s locations on its website.

2.       A mashup combines this information from these two separate systems so that I can type “espresso” into my Google maps search on my blackberry.

3.       Now I know, “Wow! A starbucks is only two blocks back” or “a local coffee shop is three blocks ahead close to where I am going”

4.       I can try the old standby or try a new coffee house.

Keep them coming! 

 A mashup is a "browser-before-the-browser" that navigates for data from different sources, combines them, filters them, and finally delivers a page (or grid, or whatever) that's bigger than the sum of its parts.

My Two Cents. 

A mashup is multiple combined micro views that give you a macro view.   The separate sources of data, when merged into a whole, become useful knowledge.     

Enteprise Mashup is the technique for turning enterprise users into "master chefs", i.e. allows them to use different "ingredients" (information/data) that have their own "tastes and spices" (data definition and usage) to rapidly prepare a gourmet concoction with the necessary "secret sauce" (governance) making a truly new "culinary delight" (a new way to consume enterprise data to make decisions not easily attainable before).

An enterprise mashup is a dynamic web application assembled from web-based building blocks or components.

Much in the fashion that general purpose lego blocks can be assembled into larger, more complex and unique structures that are greater than the sum of their parts, an enterprise mashup is assembled from pre-existing web-based building blocks to create a new web application that delivers more functionality than any single component could provide in isolation.  As with lego, each block has a role or function and can be dynamically swapped in and out to change the design and functionality of the web application on the fly.  Owing to their dynamic nature, an enterprise mashup is typically assembled by a business user to address tactical to short- and mid-term business needs.

Here is my entry into the "simple contest to define enterprise mashups". A mashup is a selected aggregation of information from multiple sources to assit and improve an individuals ability to make a decision.
 

Wow.  There's some impressive replies here.  Tomorrow we announce the winners from week 1 (tell your friends!).  Here's a few more entries from my Inbox.

Adam Bailin says:

"An enterprise mashup is a new program made from two or more existing programs or websites (they are "mashed up" into something new).  Since the new mashup is able to tie together the existing information in a relevant and logical way, your experience as an end user is enriched, allowing you to be more productive."

MDC member Mark Scrimshire posted :

An enterprise mashup is a real-time application that can be built by users or developers using data pulled from public or internal sources that creates new insights and understanding as a result of combining previously unconnected information in new ways. 
The Enterprise Mashup Platform enables Just-in-Time development of solutions that reflect the real world reality that we need to use information from a wide variety of source applications in ways that were never dreamt of when the applications were originally designed and implemented.
The Enterprise Mashup platform differs from Consumer Mashup Services in recognizing and working within the security and audit requirements of an organization while enabling public and internal data to be brought together to create valuable and actionable information.

MDC member Rodrigo Garica (the runner-up in our Mash for Cash Contest a few months ago) said:

A mashup is a lightweight web application composed by two or more data sources, the business value of this web application is to provide real time data for decision making.

Jeff Fischer wrote:

Best Answer for the Consumer in this Contest. It's like ending up with a bowl of mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving with a lot of lumps from the programs that have been brought together. The interface is the butter that allows you to smooth it all out and have a richer experience.

And Jordan said:

Any Application that is built on a composition of services instead of t legacy methods (such as: point to point integration, tight coupling, no seperation of concerns).

Finally, Herdy Handoko decided his original entry needed a little spice, so he resubmitted this:

"Creating awareness and finding creative uses of information, made easy by having the freedom and flexibility of mixing and matching multiple data source with the help of the right tools."

It's going to be very hard to pick just 1 (or 2)!

Mashups are like mashed potatoes.  You take 2 different sources of information (which are your potatoes), peel off the skin (presentation layer), mash them together to make something new and present them in a whole new way (which is your gravy). 

The fastest way to assemble data from internal and external data sources; put it in context; collaborate and make decisions in record time.

Hi Chris,

This is how i will define for a non technical Layperson--
 
"Mashups is a model where technology is used to combine multiple information(data) from multiple sources (Website, ERP, Accounts, Database etc.) into one common page for giving insight to the user for ease of decision making, usability, speed and interface. For example - a jobsite providing you open jobs from all job portals at one place; another one a travel website giving you all the airline information at one place by collecting data from all sources and presenting to end user in readable format"  A very simple example is www.scour.com which gives results from multiple search engines. Mashups cater to simple applications like above to complex BPM tools and dashboards for business.
 
I hope this will fit the mind of any layperson.
regards
Alok

We just announced a few winners for the 'Beat the CEO' contest: http://www.jackbe.com/enterprise-mashup/blog/beat-ceo-week-1-winners.  Congrats to jpmorgenthal, target4cactus, douglashanley, kcskcs, oluf and ekivemark!

mashups is the possibility to integrate information from different resources and use in order to help companies to accomplish their business objectives.

Mashup: Combining the features and information from multiple websites into one place for a new purpose.

I like this definition because it is short, non-technical and simple.  I always give people the example of mint.com when I talk about Mashups.

Here's a two-part entry I received via email from MDC member Thomas Metschke:

a) a heckuva simple use for SOA;

b) a Web-based resource that combines existing resources, be it content, data or application functionality, from more than one resource in enterprise environments by empowering the actual end-users to create and adapt individual information centric and situational applications.

Well, it looks like the contest is just about over.  You've got just a few more days.  This is your last chance to tell us how YOU define enterprise mashups!  Here's a few last-minute mail-in entries:

Nick Kellett, CEO & Co-Founder of Griffon Solutions said:  'I define enterprise mashup as "my company's web sugar plus your company's web flour equals our web cake"'.

Tom LaVelle said 'I define enterprise mashup as an integrated web application collage'.

And Andres Ferrate wrote 'A user-friendly definition of an 'enterprise mashup' for me is "a way of mixing, matching, and consolidating data from multiple sources on the web in a unified way that provides a value-added approach for a company (or companies) to improve business processes."'

 In many enterprises, data is in silos and mashups are a way to bind these silos to give a holistic view of the enterprise.