What is a Mash-up
In product terms a ‘mashup’ is a website, or more usually a web-based application, comprised of two or more components from different sources, but presented to the user as a single, seamless ‘experience’ or application. Today, most developers experimenting with mashups are using consumer-centric content from the likes of eBay, Amazon, Google, and others. However, in the future, corporate developers may well combine Web service elements from a range of vendor solutions with bespoke, in-house line-of-business applications to present business users with their very own “Enterprise Mashups.”
Advantages: speed of getting an offering to market, while one team is tucked away coding it all themselves, another bunhc in another garage are cobbling it together from pre-available and open components. Speed to market has never been more important, because if you miss the wave you probably loose out to a more agile, faster competitor.