The Decontextualization of IT

Seems like every few weeks there's new swirling about SOA vs. WOA/REST/ROA.

I doubt I can add anything new to the discussion, but it occurs to me that a part of what we're seeing may be the gradual and ongoing decontextualization of IT. Here's the progression:

1. Mainframe era - an entire entire enterprise of related contexts are modeled on a single box. User interaction was limited to block-mode terminals & printouts. My first job after leaving college was programming on such a box.
2. Microcomputer era - similar to mainframe; for smaller organizations
3. PC era - a small set of a specific users' or group's contexts are modeled. New tools allow users to do their own modeling (Excel, Access). IT spends a decade or more figuring out how to govern the resulting dis-integration.
4. Web 1.0 - entire enterprise of contexts are exposed via a standard presentation layer (i.e., a browser); in some ways this looks like the return of the mainframe; albeit a distributed one.
5. Web 2.0 - coarse-grained business-oriented subsets of specific contexts are exposed. Although the integration of those services remains largely an IT job, the services carry much less context with them than the apps/systems they replace. As a result, the SOA style is promoted as enabling increased business agility and innovation.
6. Resource-oriented web - decontextualized resources are exposed. IT builds apps, services, workflows, etc. that contextualize resources. Users string resources together to contextualize them "at the speed of need." (e.g., Ubiquity).

If you emphasize the contextual aspect of knowledge (as I do), you may find this trend slightly puzzling. Ever since the birth of computing & IT, there's been a focus on increasing the amount of context that's automated. There was a concerted effort, now seen as largely failed, to create what became known as "strong AI." And, recently, there's been lots of speculation about a Web 3.0 or Semantic Web.

Even Dion Hinchcliffe, in an interesting discussion about how the Web is increasingly about user-driven contextualization of resources, has a diagram that speculates that the next step may be Semantic.

He may be right...but, if so, it will be a dramatic swing back toward contextualization. Since it's unclear how resources/services can become much more decontextualized, maybe it's time to move back a little. If so, a key issue will be how to do so while maintaining the adaptability that comes with decontextualization.

Regardless, increasingly decontextualized IT, along with standards/provisioning/tools that make it easy to recontextualize "at the speed of need", would seem to be exactly what's needed to support more adaptable and agile sensemaking and decision making.

If you're unaware of the SOA, WOA/ROA/REST, etc. swirling, here's a few recent items: Burton Group blogger, here, here, and here. This shows no sign of clearing up any time soon...which, given how fundamental it is, may be a healthy sign.