Web Services: Hurdling the Hype

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.

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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.

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