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Using this new technology
Is Web Services another hype? We cannot help asking ourselves after
the dot-com era. Web Services are different because it is a set of
standards that focus on interoperability between two disparate systems.
You can use this standard when you need integration with your business
partners using different system. You can use it to exchange data between
your different applications within your organization. In this way
you can integrate your internal process easily.
Some companies like Amazon.com?[2] and Dollar Rent a Car ?[3] have
extended their applications to support web services. For example Amazon
provides a mean for another application to retrieve book information
from their database. Partners can work with Amazon to complement their
existing products range while focusing on their core product. For
example a gift store selling flowers or hampers can add books or CD-ROMs
to their offering. Customers can select books to be included in their
gift hamper.
Dollar Rent A Car is a world-leading car rental agency, with a fleet
of 75,000 cars and more than 250 locations across 26 countries. They
use Web Services to integrate their reservation system with partners'
system and would drive sales and reduce the cost of transactions.
If you recollect the components that make up Web Service, you will
notice that there is a component of finding or discovering through
the use of UDDI. When fully implemented, a single global electronic
marketplace where enterprises of any size and in any geographical
location can conduct business with each other through the exchange
of XML based messages.
Web Service supports electronic interoperability, allowing businesses
to find each other, and conduct business. All these operations can
be performed automatically, minimizing human intervention. This streamlines
electronic business offers low cost, open and standard mechanism.
Web Service is based on existing Internet Technology such as HTML,
HTTP and XML which is proven and widely adopted.
International standards
As more and more companies seek to conduct significant business over
the Internet, they face the problem of making their applications work
with those of their customers and suppliers.
The companies decide on a common standard, write any needed converters,
and that's it. But as the number of applications goes up, the number
of possible communications paths increases much faster. Standard is
very important.
W3C is responsible for defining the Web Service Standards. Other working
groups such as WS-I?[8] and ebXML will support standards from W3C
?[9]. These working groups focus on applications and adoption.
Global bodies like the United Nations (UN/CEFACT) and OASIS support
ebXML, an International Standard Working Group. Memberships are open
to anyone. There are over 75 member countries and in excess of 2,000
participants drawn from over 30 countries. These members represent
major vendors and users in the IT industry and leading vertical and
horizontal industry associations.
The vision of ebXML is to create a single global electronic marketplace
by defining the various standards needed to achieve this vision.
Reference
Andy Tan
andytan@intrinix.com
Intrinix Networks Pte Ltd
This article is publish in June/July issue of Today's Manager. It
is a bi-monthly publication of Singapore Institude of Management (www.sim.edu.sg/todaysmanager)
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