It's fun to watch kids grow up, as they move from various cute stages through the obnoxious teen years and into what passes for maturity these days. On an accelerated timescale, it's fun to watch technologies grow up, too. Some mature more quickly than others. Some mature too quickly and die out, while others never seem to mature at all.

Over the past two years, AJAX as a general technological approach seems to be maturing very quickly. I won't bore this magazine's savvy audience by recounting for the umpteenth time how, when, and by whom the term was coined, and I fully realize that many of you had been working - sometimes for years - with JavaScript, XML, and related languages and approaches before the term AJAX came into existence.

What is important is that AJAX today is not the AJAX of early 2005. Seen originally as part of a communitarian Web 2.0 culture that once again threatened to overturn the so-old, so-dated IT world of the past, AJAX is, in fact, now becoming an integral part of any serious enterprise's approach to its IT infrastructure.

Google Maps was seen as the quintessential AJAX/Web 2.0 manifestation. Raucous start-ups such as YouTube, Digg, et al, with huge Web traffic numbers but precious few employees were seen as the way of the future. AJAX interfaces promised to enhance the customer experience, leave old-fashioned Websites in the dust, and change the world.

The trouble with revolutions, though, is that they burn out quickly and don't always manage to overthrow the existing order. It's too early to tell whether Web 2.0 is a revolution, a buzzword, or an inflection point in the history of technology and civilization. It's easier to tell what's happening with AJAX. Separating AJAX from Web 2.0 reveals a seriousness of purpose by AJAX proponents and developers, and a future that will be more about improving existing infrastructures than trashing them.

Improving the customer experience - a key goal of AJAX - can be measured by the very large and very serious companies that are now integrating AJAX into their front ends. How quickly can customers find what they need? How does the new efficiency aid clickthroughs, sales, and repeat sales? How does it improve the company's effort to develop and maintain a 360-degree customer view? How does this compare with competitors? How does it compare with potential competitors? All of these questions can be answered objectively and provide information much more concrete than that provided by a mere "wow" factor.

As AJAX becomes less and less about "wow" and more and more about developing traditional customer satisfaction, we can expect the market for AJAX technology providers to grow and grow. Enterprises are taking AJAX seriously. AJAX is no longer some sort of revolutionary concept; it is becoming the way to do business. It seems as if AJAX has gone from being the cute kid, skipped those pesky teenage years, and become a very nice and productive young adult.

This may seem like a terribly unglamorous statement to all of us who like to act like radicals now and then. But it strikes me as a beautiful thing.