Web Services not yet ready for everyone! - Softonomy

The collection of software standards known as "Web Services" are still evolving and are not yet ready for widespread usage - that's according to a study conducted by Softonomy and published in a recent white paper on the website www.softonomy.com. However, it is predicted that there will be a take-up of Web Services for integration purposes and on select pilot projects. Businesses, whether large or medium, can build solutions today using the Web Services standards and gain competitive advantage.

Web Services" aren't for Everyone - Yet!

DUBLIN, IRELAND - Tuesday 7th May, 2002: The collection of software
standards known as "Web Services" are still evolving and are not yet ready
for widespread usage - that's according to a study conducted by Softonomy
and published in a recent white paper on the website www.softonomy.com.
However, it is predicted that there will be a take-up of Web Services for
integration purposes and on select pilot projects. Businesses, whether large
or medium, can build solutions today using the Web Services standards
and gain competitive advantage.

"Web Services are a set of interface standards that allow applications to be
built by exposing data and processes in a uniform way", said Mr. Martin
Kelly, Managing Director of Softonomy. "However, the standards such
as XML, SOAP, WSDL and UDDI, are still evolving. So for all intents
and purposes they are neither finalised standards nor are they functionally
complete for all the requirements that businesses need - so further
development is necessary. However, as there is significant vendor
support for Web Services and we expect the standards will continue
to mature. We think businesses can exploit Web Services in the
short-term for integration and pilot projects".

The Web Services model is relatively simple - with a client, a server and a
naming service. In fact, this model has been around for over 20 years, so is
proven to work! Web Services are not a revolution in software - they do not
solve business problems in a new way. One area of immediate use is in terms
of application integration. However, as there is no single correct way to do
integration, Web Services is just one of several approaches to that
challenge. Vendor support for Web Services is growing - Microsoft have
adopted a Web Services-based strategy within their .NET framework
and although Sun Microsystems have J2EE as a way to integrate
applications they have added support for Web Services with XML,
SOAP, UDDI and ebXML. Additionally, there are third-party
tools available for building Web Services solutions from suppliers such as
Iona, Borland and Cape Clear and Softonomy do the actual building
of the software solutions for Clients.

Softonomy, a company launched in 2001 with backing from private
investors and support from Enterprise Ireland, are builders of Software
Solutions for businesses. We design and develop product-class
software solutions, each one tailored to meet the specific needs
of our Clients. We build and implement solutions via an efficient
no-nonsense software development approach. Our customised
software can be based on our pre-built software and business
components and can leverage technologies such as Web Services.
The software solutions we develop with our Clients enable
tangible improvements in business performance and deliver
a real return on investment.

ENDS
For further information, contact Antonia Van Loon
email info@softonomy.com