By Mark W. Vigoroso E-Commerce Times
12/28/01 7:42 PM PT
While the hype surrounding Web services may soon reach proportions comparable to the
bygone portal era, many companies are betting that Web services will deliver.
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Ours is an economy of hype. Vendors produce it.
Infomediaries distribute it. And unfortunately,
corporations and consumers often buy it.
The hype swirling around Web services these days has
many companies perplexed. Is this another hollow
promise of riches for all? Or is this a technology
deserving of our attention and our ever-thinning IT budgets?
With bruises still smarting from the technology
meltdown, we no longer passively accept shovelfuls of
New Economy hype. On the other hand, corporations
can't afford to place innovation on a moratorium.
If you're not confused, you should be.
But I've noticed some beacons standing above the Web
services build-up that bode well for the burgeoning
technology.
Building Buzz
The year 2001 officially ushered in Web services as
the new darling of e-business. Put simply, Web
services are software applications that can
communicate with each other seamlessly over the
Internet regardless of platform, relying largely on
XML-based technologies.
They can be as complex as inventory management and
customer service applications or as simple as
real-time news and stock portfolio services.
Follow the Leaders
So, what are e-business managers to make of Web
services in these uncertain economic times?
As more analysts herald the promising collaboration
capabilities of Web services, vendor pitches are
beginning to echo each other, adding to the deafening
din.
I'm no better at clairvoyance than most industry
forecasters, but I would advise IT budget overseers to
take their cues from some of the world's most
established corporations, which are investing
significantly in Web services.
Boeing's Big Bet
For instance, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, part of
aerospace giant Boeing Company (NYSE: BA), recently
purchased enterprise software licenses from Web services
integration vendor IONA.
IONA's Orbix E2A Web Services Integration Platform
allows for dynamic data exchange, business process
automation and composite applications.
Sound like every other Web Services pitch you've
heard?
At this stage, that's okay. Chances are that your boss is
more concerned with legitimizing Web services as a
viable investment area than with selecting any one vendor
over another.
The world's largest aerospace company may enjoy more
financial safety nets than your company, but Boeing's
forays into Web services should at least elevate the
technology above fad status.
Hype Machine
Be sure to watch early adopters such as Boeing very
closely. Soon enough, their results will build the
evidence that will either corroborate or refute the hype.
Alongside Boeing are other companies such as British
Telecom (BT), whose investments in Web services should
further validate the technology -- or at least induce a
thorough investigation of the area.
BT is working with Cape Clear
Software to develop Web services that will
integrate its many disparate business applications and
extend them to the Internet.
Small World
Interoperability challenges within vast multinational
companies such as Boeing and British Telecom make them
ideal proving grounds for Web services.
But if you want to add medium-scale evidence to your
hype-free case study folder, take a look at Dollar Rent A Car
(NYSE: DTG).
The company built a Web service that allows travelers
who purchase tickets from Southwest
Airlines to add on a car rental without
leaving Southwest's Web site.
Pilot Program
Early Web services implementations such as this
contribute to a collective pilot program that will
test and prove the technology.
While the hype surrounding Web services may soon reach
proportions comparable to the bygone portal era, many
time-tested companies are betting that Web services
will deliver where preceding technologies have
faltered.
For more signs pointing to a favorable future for Web
services, you need only glance at the list of charter
members of the Liberty Alliance Project.
The consortium, devoted to managing users' online
identities on a Web services-based Internet, has earned
the support of such category leaders as AOL Time
Warner (NYSE: AOL), General Motors (NYSE: GM),
Sony (NYSE: SNE), and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) (NYSE:
HWP).
These votes of confidence should embolden e-business
managers to overlook the hype and examine the
potential rewards -- not just the risks -- of investing in Web services.
What do you think? Let's talk about it.
Note: The opinions expressed by our
columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the E-Commerce Times or its management.
I agree with Mark's assessment of the Web services space.
...
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