Approach

This book is structured to provide 10 answers that business executives are likely to seek as they investigate Web services. Each chapter considers a basic question, such as "What are Web services?" Key topics to be discussed highlights are listed at the beginning of each chapter. The chapter then provides information and analysis on these topics, concluding with a summary of what the reader should have learned.

The 10 questions this book closely considers are:

1. What are Web services?

2. What are program-to-program communications?

3. How do specific Web services technologies actually work?

4. Where are the limitations, shortcomings, and "gotchas" of this architecture?

5. What can these technologies enable my organization to do?

6. Who is using Web services now (and in what ways)?

7. When should my organization adopt Web services?

8. What vendor selection criteria should be used?

9. Which approach should my organization use .NET or J2EE?

10. How should my organization compare, contrast, and differentiate the product and service offerings of various Web services vendors?

An appendix section presents profiles of various randomly chosen vendors. These provide an overview of offerings by prospective vendor partners that provide Web services solutions.