There is a hot issue these days: Web Services. TechWeb decided to publish a special report on the subject, with many links to former stories. If you want to read them, you'll have to go to this report.
In the mean time, Larry Lange debunks myths frequently associated with Web Services. Here we go.
Myth No. 1: Web Services Is A Revolution
Actually, the opposite might be true. Web services technology is rooted firmly in older concepts of component-based software development.
[But] Web services will have to be adopted internally before moving outside the corporate firewall. It makes sense that initial Web services projects will involve non-transactional scenarios, at least until CIOs and IT pros become more confident in the technology's abilities.
Myth No. 2: Web Services Are Not Secure
Think again. Web services are becoming more and more secure. But secure interoperability is the real issue here, the one that will determine whether Web services actually get adopted in the enterprise.
Myth No. 3: Sun And Microsoft Are The Only Players In Town
You know all about Microsoft's.Net strategy. You've gotten familiar with Sun's SunONE and its J2EE spec. But there's more to Web services than that.
But don't forget IBM, BEA Systems, Hewlett-Packard, CommerceOne, Computer Associates or Verisign.
Myth No. 4: Web Services Standards Are Under Control
Web services are in danger of drowning in acronyms, from UDDI and SOAP to WSDL and ebXML. There's no universally accepted format for exchanging XML documents while using Web services, and XML is what everyone's focused on. And there are something like eight standards in e-commerce.
Myth No. 5: The Web Services Industry Has Gone Cold
Really? Here come the people I *like*, the analysts.
Analysts at McKinsey say Web services technology will bring down system integration costs by 20 percent. And IDC predicts the total software, services, and hardware markets derived from Web services will explode -- from $1.6 billion in 2004 to $34 billion by 2007.
You'll have to remember these numbers five years from now...
Source: Larry Lange, TechWeb, October 1, 2002
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