How Web Services Can Be Used to Dynamically Increase a Company s Application Portfolio

How Web Services Can Be Used to Dynamically Increase a Company's Application Portfolio

Throughout the 1990s and into the 21st century, businesses have been struggling to integrate "packaged" applications into their overall enterprise application portfolios. (A packaged application is one that has been purchased "off the shelf" from an independent software vendor to run some business function.) Typically today's enterprises are struggling to implement and customize the following:

  • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) applications (which run a company's financial, human resource, sales, manufacturing, distribution, and other inward-looking applications).

  • Customer Resource Management (CRM) applications (which run customer services, sales-force automation, and other outward-looking functions).

  • Supply Chain Management (SCM) applications (which streamline a company's interaction with its supply-chain partners).

Among the many tasks involved in implementing these packages are customizing code for an enterprise's particular needs and performing integration among all three of these applications (such that CRM sales-force applications can provide feedback to ERP sales and manufacturing systems, for instance). Building highly integrated ERP/CRM/SCM applications can be extremely complex, time consuming, and costly.

Now, imagine a scenario where all of these "packaged" applications suddenly become available as services on the Web. Imagine that an enterprise could pick the suite of ERP applications desired and that those applications could work automatically with CRM or SCM applications (because all three could use UDDI directories, WSDL protocols, and SOAP protocols to communicate and share data and information). Web services creates just such an environment by creating standards that enable applications to present data in common and consistent ways and by providing protocols for applications to negotiate how to share such information and at what cost.

Using a Web services approach, enterprises will some day be able to dynamically assemble application portfolios that meet their particular computing needs while avoiding much of the expensive integration and deployment expense related to designing, deploying, and managing ERP, CRM, and SCM applications. On the flip side of this coin, hundreds if not thousands of software suppliers will change their approach to market: instead of focusing on selling package licenses, these software makers will focus on selling applications as services (and charge a subscription fee for so doing).

Figure 5-2 illustrates how businesses can use Web services to dynamically build an application portfolio. It also articulates a few of the benefits derived by moving to a Web services application model.

Figure 5-2. Dynamic Application Portfolio Development: Challenges and Opportunities.

graphics/05fig02.jpg

Not So Fast…

For this scenario to become a reality, much work has to be done in building public UDDI directories; and much work has to be done by ISVs in writing WSDL templates that allow for application interoperability as well as data/information sharing.

Still, it is important to note that solid progress is being shown in the creation of Web services UDDI registries. The following SAP press release illustrates this point.

WALLDORF, Germany October 4, 2001 SAP AG (NYSE: SAP), the world's leading provider of e-business software solutions, today announced it has become a global UDDI Operator and will build on UDDI for service integration and publish global services within the UDDI Business Registry. With this threefold strategy, SAP will fully leverage UDDI for e-business solutions from providing SAP® functionality for Web services to using services published through UDDI. This strategy will provide SAP customers with an easy path to participate in and drive collaborative business.

The Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI) Business Registry is a global, public, online directory that gives businesses a uniform way to describe their services, discover other companies' services, and understand the methods necessary to conduct e-business with a particular company. As a key element of the framework that makes Web services a reality, the UDDI Business Registry is an implementation based on the UDDI Specifications, which are available at www.uddi.org/.

"SAP is focused on developing solutions that break down technical barriers and help companies transact business on a global level," said Karl-Heinz Hess, member of the extended executive board of SAP AG. "With SAP fully embracing UDDI, SAP customers will receive all the technology infrastructure and services to develop, deploy and manage Web services, which supports SAP's position as the leading e-business solution provider."

As part of becoming a UDDI Business Registry Operator, SAP will build, run and maintain a global UDDI node, enabling businesses to register and discover Web services via the Internet. SAP has been a driving member of the UDDI initiative, which enables businesses to quickly, easily and dynamically collaborate, since its inception.

"We are pleased with SAP's continued support of the UDDI initiative by its joining the UDDI Business Registry Operators, Microsoft, IBM and Hewlett-Packard, in hosting a public UDDI Business Registry for Web services, as well as through product integration," said Tom Glover, general program manager for uddi.org. "With UDDI, companies of all sizes can register themselves to gain exposure to other e-businesses looking for specific B2B relationships. SAP is truly preparing its customers to take advantage of Web services by using UDDI for services publishing and integration."

SAP will make it possible to provide the application functions of the mySAP.com® e-business platform as a service, which makes it easy for customers to provide this information externally through UDDI. In addition, SAP customers can use UDDI to quickly and easily find and integrate complementary services regardless of their location. For example, a service such as "check product availability" can be performed without putting the integration challenge on the IT manager…

SAP customers can register their business through the SAP Service Marketplace. At the customer's request, the stored business information can be published in the UDDI Business Registry, made available globally and enhanced by individual services. SAP has already registered itself and started to publish its global services offerings, such as the "test drive" of the mySAP.com e-business platform, in UDDI.

Source: http://www.sap.com/press/press.asp?pressID=629. Used by Permission.

Notice in this article that Microsoft, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and now SAP are all building common UDDI directory services such that applications can use Web services to find cooperative service applications. All of these companies clearly believe that Web services represent a viable way to create large registries of sharable applications and have taken the steps necessary to help jump-start the industry in order to build such UDDI registries. With this vendor line up, and with over 500 vendors committed to helping build Web services standards (as part of the W3C consortium), it is reasonable to conclude that Web services will become a viable standard for cross-platform program-to-program communications.



Web Services Explained. Solutions and Applications for the Real World
Web Services Explained, Solutions and Applications for the Real World
ISBN: 0130479632
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2002
Pages: 115
Authors: Joe Clabby

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