| The Harvard Business Review describes Web Services as the next IT strategy. Web Services can be deployed as a solution that addresses "data silos " or restrictive ERP-based enterprise architectures. It is a cost-effective approach to addressing integration with external processes and institutions. It is also a risk mitigation to obsolete technology, making it easier to adopt outsourced or managed services using standardized and plug-and-play Web Services. There are many Web Services conferences (including XML One and Web Services Conference), numerous articles, and a growing number of books (more than 86 books on SOAP, UDDI, and Web Services). There is also much hype about what Web Services can do and how quick and easy it is to deliver enterprise solutions. According to Gartner's Technology Hype Model, XML has passed the market-hype stage. We shall review some of the Web Services market and pilot solutions to assess readiness and maturity for mass implementation. Many leading apps server and middleware vendors have already embedded SOAP into their products (for example, BEA Weblogic, Sun ONE , IBM WebSphere, and Microsoft .NET). Some vertical solutions have already been using XML for interfaces and export/import. They also expose their system functionality to SOAP, partly as a pilot in case the market is mature or as a response to customer requests (for example, CoRe Solutions and Bottomline Technologies). Many large corporations and technology vendors presented their Web Services positioning and strategy at the W3C Web Services Conference 2001. Though they may not be visible to public, many large corporations, such as Visa International, CIBC, and UHG, have small pilot projects in XML Web Services (for example, many have SOAP-enabled some applications and have built a UDDI registry). Finally, some public UDDI portals connect to some public Web Services applications (for example, www.xmethods.org ). 3.7.1 Applying Web Services The term Web Services has become a buzzword in the industry recently, as corporations explore solutions for service-based architecture and reusable components for internal as well as external systems. There are new standards coming out of the Web Services concept, including ebXML, SOAP, and UDDI. Leading technology vendors such as Sun, IBM, and Microsoft are gearing up their products to support Web Services. One business driver for Web Services is the need for a service-based infrastructure that enables business applications to be deployed as reusable services and components, instead of silos and proprietary technology. In the short term, there may be cost savings as a result of better economy of scale and lower integration cost. More importantly, Web Services is positioned to be easier for development and deployment due to the nature of reusable components and Quality of Service. Web Services can be also seen as continuing the exploitation of XML technology for business services. Different marketplaces and public bodies, such as UN/CEFACT and DISA, have been showing commitment to initiatives related to Web Services. We should anticipate that more Web Services will be adopted and implemented by marketplaces and portals in the near future. There are also emerging trends for adopting Web Services. Customers are expecting quick return of the benefits, such as lower operating cost of integration, and faster development and deployment cycles. There are more vendor products embedding Web Services technology. Though there is market hype, that at least helps make the market more aware. 3.7.2 Web Services Solutions Sampler Table 3-7 provides a sampler of public Web Services solutions that are published for public consumption or testing. They serve as good examples of what can be exposed as Web Services. Table 3-7. Publicly Available Web Services Solutions Sampler | Category | Examples | WSDL | | Supply Chain Management | Sporting goods finder (seanco.com) Product price comparison (araviindcorera) Book price quote (xmethods.net) | http://www.xmlme.com/WSSportingGoods.asmx?WSDLhttp://hosting.msugs.ch/aravindc/BookPriceComparison.asmx?wsdl http://www.xmethods.net/sd/2001/BNQuoteService.wsdl | | Logistics | Track shipment status (xmethods.net) | http://www.xmethods.net/sd/2001/FedExTrackerService.wsdl | | Traffic condition (xmethods.net) | http://www.xmethods.net/sd/2001/CATrafficService.wsdl | | Syndicated News | Various headline news (sqldata.com) | http://www. soapclient .com/xml/SQLDataSoap.WSDL | | Weather forecast (unisysfsp.com) | http://hosting001.vs.k2unisys.net/Weather/PDCWebService/WeatherServices.asmx?WSDL | | Wireless | Instant messaging services (nims.nl) | http://www.nims.nl/soap/oms.wsdl | | Send SMS messages (lucin.com) | http://www.soapengine.com/lucin/soapenginex/smsx.asmx?wsdl | | Travel | Map service (dotnetmap.com) | http://www.dotnetmap.com/ webservices /mapservice.asmx?wsdl | | Multimedia/Entertainment | Video game finder (seanco.com) | http://www.xmlme.com/WSVideoGames.asmx?WSDL | | Financial Services | Delayed stock quotes (cchenoweth/cdyne.com) | http://ws.cdyne.com/delayedstockquote/delayedstockquote.asmx?wsdl | | Stock news (mybubble.com) NYSE/NASDAQ Stock quotes (durrios.com) | http://www.mybubble.com:8080/mybubbleEntServer/MyBubbleSoapServices.wsdlhttp://www.durrios.com/Finance.wsdl | | Currency exchange rate (xmethods.net) | http://www.xmethods.net/sd/2001/CurrencyExchangeService.wsdl | | Payment Services | RichPayments.net ”ePayment with card, checks (richsolutions.com) | http://www.richsolutions.com/richpayments/richpay.asmx?WSDL | | Utilities | UN/SPSC code search (CodeMechanisms.com) | http://www.codemechanisms.co.uk/WebServices/UNSPSC.asmx?WSDL | | Convert business data to/from CSV, EDI, xCBL, XML (dataconcert.com) | http://transform.dataconcert.com/transform.wsdl | | Web Services Utilities | Business Services UDDI Finder (esynaps.com) | http://www.esynaps.com/WebServices/BusinessList.asmx?WSDL | 3.7.3 Strengths of the Technology -
Ease of development and deployment (using SOAP wrapper concept), compared with traditional technology. -
Decoupling data layer (XML contents) from the transport layer (for example, SOAP and JMS-binding), which facilitates integration with heterogeneous platforms and different vendor technology. -
Open standards-based. Wider choice of vendor solutions. Easy to integrate with different vendor solutions. -
Tightly integrated with J2EE framework (for example, JAXM embeds ebXML and Web Services capability). -
Interoperability with UDDI and ebXML registries. There are cases where different business services are implemented in different types of registries. 3.7.4 Limitations -
Web Services technology is still evolving; the technology paradigm is vulnerable to changes by many vendor-specific extensions. -
Web Services security is rudimentary because many Web Services security standards only address some of the problem space but not the entire picture. -
WS-Security using DSIG is dependent on the deployment of digital certificates or Kerberos tickets, which may not be viable for some countries /companies. -
Difficult to measure scalability and performance improvement, as Web Services can be across different end-points. -
Messages between Web Services nodes (such as service providers) are not guaranteed using SOAP; need to be supplemented by technology such as asynchronous messaging with guaranteed message delivery. -
The workflow and process integration aspect is yet to be defined and enhanced; this is a good area for ebXML and SOAP convergence. -
Web Services is a lightweight approach for integration, and it cannot replace EAI. 3.7.5 Scenario Figure 3-33 depicts a sample Web Services scenario. The Buyer is running Web Services internally for order management, production forecast, and finance applications. The finance applications are out-tasked to an external financial services service provider using Web Services. The Buyer places the Request for Quote and Purchase Orders with a Trading Exchange (in ebXML/Web Services), which in turn trades with another Trading Exchange (in SOAP/Web Services). The Buyer also uses B2B payment Web Services from Bank A and credit card/customer support Web Services from the Credit Card Company. Both of them use ebXML-based Web Services. The Credit Card Company also provides credit card Web Services to Bank A using ebXML. Figure 3-33. Sample Web Services Application Scenario  Objectives To provide a single payment gateway in order to settle cross-border payments with multiple banks. Problem Space -
Buyers have many Electronic Banking systems; cannot use one single front-end to settle payments with multiple banks. -
It cannot support cross-border payment. -
There is no agreeable data format for exchanges, buyers, suppliers, banks, or credit card companies to share and reuse. Description -
XML Web Services technology enables multiple banks and credit card companies to reuse the same purchase order contents. -
It also enables interoperability and integration between banks and credit card companies with reusable data over the existing infrastructure. Benefits -
Enables high-value cross-border payment using credit cards -
Seamless integration with buyers and suppliers' back office systems using reusable system components over existing infrastructure -
Better flexibility to their customers and trading partners -
Easier integration with multiple trading partners, trading exchanges, and business partners (for example, banks) -
Integration with out-sourced or out-tasked business services -
Platform-independent -
Support of open standards In the sample business scenario, simple Web Services refer to simple synchronous Web Services calls (such as JAX-RPC) that invoke business functionality remotely. They do not require complex workflow or any additional dependency in order to complete the service call. Complex Web Services refer to sophisticated business functionality that requires additional steps or workflow, such as multilevel payment authorization, matching outstanding credit balance and payment amounts, and so forth. They are likely to be in asynchronous messages (or document-based Web Services) and require business process orchestration from multiple trading partners or systems. In simple Web Services, the service requester will use XML, SOAP, WSDL, and UDDI to locate the Web Services via the Web. The client application will discover how to invoke the Web Services and then submit the request. The Web Services server will process the request and return the result to the requester. In some complex Web Services, there will be multiparty and long-running transaction support, collaboration and business process management, transactional integrity, and transactional security (such as nonrepudiation and digital signature), as well as context sensitivity (ordering of steps and described conversations). Please refer to some detailed examples from http://www.bea.com/products/weblogic/server/paper_webservices4.shtml#Examples . 3.7.1 Identifying and Selecting a Pilot A pilot is highly recommended before adopting a Web Services strategy. Here are some suggestions to identify and select a pilot. Business/Operational -
Processes that require intensive manual or semi-manual procedures or duplicate data entries -
Processes that take a long time (such as several days) because systems are not interconnected -
Meaningful and simple (reasonably sophisticated, not over-complicated) processes are required -
ROI or immediate benefits can be realized within a few months -
Management sponsorship for the pilot Technology -
Applications that involve more than one external party -
Heterogeneous platform interoperability required -
Similar interfaces that can be refactored into reusable components -
Viability ”achievable within two-three months; do not pick any system candidates that require heavy IT investment, or large infrastructural changes 3.7.2 Approach to Implementing Web Services -
Identify the business services for the Web Services candidate. -
Define the Web Services architecture for the candidate. Sun's ONE framework is the recommended Web Services architecture that supports open standards and easy interoperability. -
Integrate the Web Services with the business model and business processes. -
Integrate the Web Services with any back office systems, if necessary. -
Start a pilot. -
Interoperate with other Web Services and e-Marketplaces. 3.7.3 Critical Success Factors Focused Business and Clear Vision. It is crucial to have a clear vision and a focused business. Noncore business services are good candidates for out-tasking as Web Services, which may result in better economy of scale. Right Resources and Expertise. The right personnel, an appropriate combination of disciplined and creative staff, is critical to success. Subject matter experts related to e-Marketplaces and Web Services can be introduced from notable vendors such as Sun Professional Services. Limited Scope. Do not be too aggressive in implementing too many business services at one time. Start small and grow. Examples of applications are: -
Credit card information for partners, merchants , third-party bill presenters, or aggregators ” This reduces individual customized integration efforts and provides timely reporting of card information. -
Instant credit standings check ” A merchant or Service Provider submits a service request for credit checking to the bank's Web Services. A response is made from the bank's Web Services in real time to reduce business exposure to risks. -
Customer support for new credit card applications ” The customer support center may be out-tasked to a third party. New customers can enter the Web Services to apply for a new credit card. -
B2B payment services ” Purchase Orders and payment instructions can be exchanged between merchants or B2B exchanges and the banks. |
