Why FDC3?
Why look for FDC3-enabled applications?
You want your business to move fast and use best of breed applications. Application integration has traditionally been a time consuming and costly exercise, meaning that once a set of applications supporting a workflow was established, changing parts of the workflow without very good reason was a no-go.
The main goal of FDC3 is to standardize how applications communicate, without having defined inter-application workflows prior to being deployed. Applications that are FDC3-enabled can take part in a workflow on the desktop without any coding or manual integration, allowing you to replace one application with another application serving the same functions to the desktop (in FDC3 terms - supporting the same Intents and Context).
Why should I FDC3-enable my applications?
There is a trend towards breaking up monolithic desktop applications, replacing them with adaptable workflows which involve the collaboration of multiple best-of-breed applications. Still, much of the integration on the desktop is done by the actual end-user; copy/paste between applications, exporting/importing CSV files etc..
Every application that has manual user input is a candidate for being FDC3-enabled, being able to demonstrate that your application can effectively take part in a workflow (without manual dual-entry or other tedious operations) is a easy route to happier users. Allowing your application to reach out to others is another way of extending the power of your offering; your app might not offer charting, but can let the end-user chart in an FDC3-enabled companion application based on context passed from your own app.
Why should my development team look at adopting FDC3?
Deploying effective end-user workflows with as little development effort as possible, should be the goal for all internal/platform integration development teams. Implementing or developing on a platform that is FDC3-enabled, if done right, results in more bang for the buck. FDC3 is all about (re)usability and low-touch integration. With an App directory in place and a platform to develop on, each new enabled app broadens the value of the workflow offering.