Microsoft spec invites controversy

“The last thing the industry needs are two different security/ID specifications,” said Jason Bloomberg, an analyst with market researcher ZapThink. Bloomberg and Ron Schmeltzer [sic], also with ZapThink, said that a potential standards rivalry could be hurtful to the industry at large.

“Security is the primary concern of Web services users today,” said Schmeltzer. “If we see proliferation of multiple specifications backed by the big players, it could cause confusion and slow down end user adoption.”

Read more at: CNet

XML shows promise, but …

Gartner predicts that the amount of XML data in corporations will grow from about 2 percent in 2000 to 60 percent by 2004. Exact numbers are hard to come by though, since, as Ronald Schmelzer, analyst for ZapThink, an XML research house, says, “XML is so persuasive that it’s already everywhere. Eventually, it will even be in dishwashers.”

Schmelzer comments that “XML is not very efficient from a processing, network, or storage” standpoint, and that its use is growing. By 2006, he says, XML traffic alone may reach 25% of corporate network traffic.

Read more at: The Register and SD Times

Web services standards march forward

“If you want to do anything serious with Web services you need security, reliable messaging, process [execution] and management,” says Ron Schmelzer, an analyst with ZapThink. “The fangs are coming out now among the vendors because these things are so important to Web services adoption.”

Read more at: NetworkWorld

Web services to offload integration from professional services

As service-oriented architectures utilizing Web services become dominant, companies will increasingly be using professional services organizations less for system integration and more for architectural consulting and business process automation, according to a report from research firm ZapThink announced this week.

Read more at: InfoWorld

Service-Oriented Architecture Consulting for Professional Services Organizations

Service-Oriented Architectures (SOAs) represent an evolutionary approach to distributed computing that promises a flexible IT environment that leads to business agility. As companies look to leverage the business advantages of Web Services to address strategic business needs, they are increasingly looking to build SOAs. However, SOAs require special skills and expertise. When companies do not have such skills in-house, they turn to consultants, system integrators, and other professional services organizations.

The movement to SOAs present both opportunities and threats to consulting firms: on the one hand, there will be an increased demand for architectural consulting, business process consulting and the implementation tasks associated with building SOAs. On the other hand, as SOAs take hold and Service-oriented process solutions supplant integration solutions, the market for system integration will dry up, requiring system integrators to change their business focus.

This report analyzes the market for SO

Service-Oriented Architecture Consulting

Service-Oriented Architectures (SOAs) represent an evolutionary approach to distributed computing that promises a flexible IT environment that leads to business agility. As companies look to leverage the business advantages of Web Services to address strategic business needs, they are increasingly looking to build SOAs. However, SOAs require special skills and expertise. When companies do not have such skills in-house, they turn to consultants, system integrators, and other professional services organizations.

The movement to SOAs present both opportunities and threats to consulting firms: on the one hand, there will be an increased demand for architectural consulting, business process consulting and the implementation tasks associated with building SOAs. On the other hand, as SOAs take hold and Service-oriented process solutions supplant integration solutions, the market for system integration will dry up, requiring system integrators to change their business focus.

This report analyzes the market for SOA within professional services organizations from three perspectives: from the point of view of the consulting firm, who must understand how its business must change; from the perspective of the enterprise user, who must select and manage a consultant; and from the point of view of software vendors who wish to work with consultants to help them meet the needs of their customers.

Service-Oriented Architecture Consulting Partnership Landscape

Service-Oriented Architectures (SOAs) represent an evolutionary approach to distributed computing that promises a flexible IT environment that leads to business agility. As companies look to leverage the business advantages of Web Services to address strategic business needs, they are increasingly looking to build SOAs. However, SOAs require special skills and expertise. When companies do not have such skills in-house, they turn to consultants, system integrators, and other professional services organizations.

The movement to SOAs present both opportunities and threats to consulting firms: on the one hand, there will be an increased demand for architectural consulting, business process consulting and the implementation tasks associated with building SOAs. On the other hand, as SOAs take hold and Service-oriented process solutions supplant integration solutions, the market for system integration will dry up, requiring system integrators to change their business focus.

This report analyzes the market for SO

Service-Oriented Architecture Consulting for Enterprise End-Users

Service-Oriented Architectures (SOAs) represent an evolutionary approach to distributed computing that promises a flexible IT environment that leads to business agility. As companies look to leverage the business advantages of Web Services to address strategic business needs, they are increasingly looking to build SOAs. However, SOAs require special skills and expertise. When companies do not have such skills in-house, they turn to consultants, system integrators, and other professional services organizations.

The movement to SOAs present both opportunities and threats to consulting firms: on the one hand, there will be an increased demand for architectural consulting, business process consulting and the implementation tasks associated with building SOAs. On the other hand, as SOAs take hold and Service-oriented process solutions supplant integration solutions, the market for system integration will dry up, requiring system integrators to change their business focus.

This report analyzes the market for SO

RSA Security Helps Organizations Implement Secure Web Services to Achieve Competitive Advantage

ZapThink predicts the web services security market to reach $4.4 billion by 2006, out of a total web services software market of more than $25 billion. As the use of XML and web services increases, the need for comprehensive security solutions becomes even more critical, said Jason Bloomberg, senior analyst with ZapThink. Furthermore, as companies look to use web services strategically across the enterprise, they will find that enterprise-wide identity and access management coupled with robust security policy administration and enforcement are essential precursors to building enterprise-class Service-Oriented Architectures.

Read more at: Hosting Tech

RSA Preaches Web Services Security

Further details of RSA’s initiative will be addressed in a May 20 Webcast, produced with ZapThink, an XML and Web services analyst firm. Among the topics discussed will be the opportunities of web services, industry trends and best practices.

ZapThink expects the Web services security market to reach $4.4 billion by 2006, out of a total Web services software market of more than $25 billion.

“As the use of XML and web services increases, the need for comprehensive security solutions becomes even more critical,” said Jason Bloomberg, senior analyst with ZapThink.

Read more at: Internetnews.com