GUIs Gone Wild

I've recently been on the road at some customer visits as well as participating in a number of field briefings covering BSM solutions.  It is interesting to observe the audience while other BMC folks and partners are presenting. While everything we talk about is compelling to someone, there is always something that really grabs the audience every time they see it - our  Dashboards for BSM product.  People really "wake up" and pay attention, the questions start flowing, and they want to get their hands on it.

This technology has a very slick RIA (Rich Internet Application) user interface (developed using Adobe Flex).  I've always felt many software products are found wanting when it comes to the user interface, and while the interface is often a small part of the overall code body for many complex applications, the interface can make or break many products.

This is what makes the Apple iPhone the instant hit it has been.  It is what makes Google Maps for Blackberry so popular (one of the neatest and most useful Blackberry apps I've used).

Many kudos to my good friends Ash Arora and Tom Bishop (podcast here) for making Dashboards happen at BMC!

(written 07/05/07)