Get ready for widgets in the workplace

Widgets, downloadable applications that display data from the Internet on websites or a desktop, may have started in the consumer world but they are quickly making their way into the enterprise. Widgets offer many benefits to corporate users; unlike the reams of software, passwords and security layers users must go through to access corporate applications, widgets downloaded to the desktop are simple. They are designed for a single purpose, such as entering a new contact into a customer database or tracking sales quotas. The IT department also wins. No data is stored locally, so if a laptop is stolen, IT administrators can just turn off the widget's network access. Major vendors are getting into the game. SAP, for example, is actively looking at using desktop widgets at work, while Windows Vista and Mac OS X both support widgets. Yahoo and Google are also on board. But adoption will take time.

For more about widgets in the workplace:
- read the article at Business 2.0