Executives Guide to Web Services (SOA, Service-Oriented Architecture)

To enable both technical and non-technical executives to truly understand Web services and appreciate their full potential, we begin the book by introducing first principles—laying the foundation upon which to build a deep knowledge and understanding of the opportunities for use of Web services, as well as their real-world application. Thus, the majority of readers will find it beneficial to read this book in chapter order, gaining additional perspectives and understanding as each chapter incrementally builds upon previously covered topics. Those readers who have a solid understanding of the Web services fundamentals might choose to read specific chapters or sections of greatest interest, adding new and previously unexplored perspectives to their current portfolio of understanding and knowledge.

The following outline introduces each chapter and discusses its specific focus, as well as the key topics covered:

• Chapter 1, “A Day in the Life of a CIO” —Chapter 1 begins by looking at a hypothetical Fortune 500 organization, following the dialogue between the CEO and CIO as they discuss the organization’s current business objectives and jointly explore the potential for use of Web services. The dialogue focuses on the strategic goals of the organization and scenarios for which Web services might be considered as an enabling technology. Subsequent sections explore the business environment and Information Technology (IT) challenges that most organizations have experienced over the past 10 years, providing a backdrop for the use of Web services and their anticipated adoption over the next 3–5 years.

At its core, this chapter seeks to illustrate that IT in general, and Web services specifically, need to be considered as a strategic asset—an asset that must be leveraged to obtain accurate and timely management information, an asset through which organizations must seek to gain and sustain competitive advantage in their chosen markets. The truth of today’s business landscape is that the availability of timely and accurate information is no longer a luxury, a nice to have, but rather a must have requirement for effective business leadership and management.

• Chapter 2, “Standards, Concepts, and Terminology” —This chapter begins by illustrating a real-life example of how Web services are being used today. We examine how Dunn & Bradstreet (D&B) are using Web services and highlight potential benefits and competitive advantage that they might seek to gain. Subsequent sections take the reader step-by-step through the maze of Web services standards, concepts, and terminology.

  The Web services standards framework is introduced and used to group the plethora of standards into the categories of enabling, evolving, and emerging. Each category is examined in detail as the concepts and initial considerations for implementation of Web services are explained.

• Chapter 3, “Web Services Adoption” —Chapter 3 details the Web services adoption model, describing the four phases through which adoption will likely progress over the next 3–5 years. We propose that organizations will initially use Web services for internal integration, then progress onto collaboration and innovation, and finally dominance as market leaders extend their competitive advantage over rivals. Each phase of the adoption model explores the business landscape and the planning considerations and proposes a plan of action to ensure that you are not left behind by the impending Web services tsunami.

• Chapter 4, “Strategic Implications of Web Services” —This chapter discusses the implications of Web services for corporate strategy, business models, and value chains. We suggest that business and IT executives need to collaborate more effectively to incorporate the use of Web services into every aspect of business planning, to infuse Web services into the business model and the value chain. Further, we propose that it is only through the effective alignment of both the business and the IT value chains, that it will be possible to determine how costs can be reduced, how new customers can be reached, and how partners and suppliers can be tied into the value chain to optimize the creation of business value.

• Chapter 5, “Vertical Market Implications of Web Services” —In Chapter 5 we examine the implications of Web services from a vertical market perspective. The vertical market in which an organization competes will, to some extent, determine how Web services might be leveraged to achieve internal efficiencies and enhance its ability to interact with suppliers, customers, and trading partners. The manufacturing and financial services verticals are examined in detail with specific attention given to a selection of industries including computer and electronics, automotive, pharmaceutical, and banking, to name a few.

• Chapter 6, “Where to Begin?” —This chapter seeks to separate Web services hype from reality and to provide a realistic and pragmatic foundation upon which to evaluate an organization’s ability to implement Web services. We detail three steps for the initial implementation of Web services: “Start Preparing,” “Select a Pilot,” and “Incremental Adoption.” These steps will help business and IT executives to better understand where to begin implementing Web services and what pitfalls to avoid.

• Chapter 7, “Architecting for Competitive Advantage” —In Chapter 7 we present the case for the use of Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) principles and Web services standards as the lynch-pin for reinvigorating an organization’s enterprise architecture. We suggest that an enterprise architecture implemented in this manner can be leveraged to enable greater business flexibility and agility—achieved, in part, through more effective reuse of application and system infrastructure, and more rapid deployment of the systems required to support changes in business direction and strategy.

  Beyond the implementation of an SOA we compare and contrast the virtues of Microsoft’s .NET and Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE)— the two primary vehicles for implementation of Web services. Many organizations will likely have a heterogeneous environment in which both .NET and J2EE are used. In this section we highlight the rationale for use of either .NET or J2EE, but also discuss the potential for their interoperability enabled through the use of Web services standards.

• Chapter 8, “The Web Services Vendor Landscape” —In Chapter 8 we map elements of an organization’s systems architecture to seven vendor categories. Each category is reviewed in detail to determine the categories and vendors that will likely gain ground as the use of Web services continues to spread. This chapter represents a point-in-time overview of software vendors, summarizing market positioning and capabilities of BEA Systems, IBM’s “Services On Demand,” Microsoft’s “.Net,” Oracle’s “Oracle Dynamic Services,” and Sun Microsystems’ “Sun ONE,” among others.

• Chapter 9, “The End is Only the Beginning” —This, the final chapter, provides a retrospective summary of the key topics covered in the book, as well as final thoughts to consider as you embark upon your Web services voyage.

  This chapter closes with an epilogue, “One Year Later,” in which we revisit the hypothetical Fortune 500 organization introduced in Chapter 1. The dialogue between the CEO and CIO is rejoined as they review the progress that has been made over the past year and discuss the benefits gained through the use of Web services.

During the creation of this book we have continually sought to bring a business driven perspective to the subject of Web services. Our hope is that you will find this to be a valuable guide as you begin to explore the business opportunities that Web services will enable, and that the Executive’s Guide to Web Services will be a useful addition to your reference library.