Of course, that was before a host of new Web frameworks and mobile platforms appeared on the scene. Few hold out hope for the "write once, run anywhere" dream these days, and in fact, Stephen O'Grady of RedMonk the Tower of Babel situation is going to become even more pronounced in the coming year:
It's not hard to imagine what can go wrong for CIOs who back the wrong horse. Platforms and standards that fail to take hold eventually translate to additional development work, hiring and training headaches, software costs, and friction with customers and partners. Take the mobile apps space. Shops that made big bets on Windows Mobile and J2ME a few years ago have watched as a new generation of smartphones and mobile platforms have come onto the scene and .
Unfortunately, there's no crystal ball which will predict the long-term winners and losers. So, for the time being, navigating the proliferation of platforms is will require tried-and-true evaluation skills, as well as a healthy dose of common sense. It means keeping a close eye on the evolving marketplace, carefully listening to peers and trusted advisors, and treading warily when it comes to vendor hype and FUD.
: RedMonk.com, News.Ycombinator.com