Standards for security and reliability, meanwhile, are popping up faster than lawsuits over business process patents. Standards such as OASIS' WSDM (Web Services Distributed Management), WS-Policy, WS-ReliableMessaging and WS-Trust are all poised to solve the business problem of cross-domain communication over Web services--with interoperability among platforms. These service silos will converge in the next year, though, as tools enabling SOBA (service-oriented business applications) emerge. These tools will provide a cut-and-paste mechanism for developers to build business applications from disparate services.
The other big change with SOA is the move toward asynchronous Web services. Synchronous, or request/ reply-based services, have been the primary method of SOA implementation thus far. But as process-oriented projects move to the forefront of IT's responsibilities in the next year, you'll need asynchronous services to support them. A request to HR for vacation time, or to IT for a new laptop, for example, doesn't typically get an instantaneous response. Asynchronous services would add a quick reply of "We have your request" to the process while the request goes through the proper channels.
While many tools for automating your H2H and B2B processes will be at your fingertips next year, keep in mind that the most important part of automating those processes and integrating enterprise apps is communicating with your business units. You can't get increased productivity and optimized business processes unless IT and the business side work together.
Lori MacVittie is a Network Computing senior technology editor working in our Green Bay, Wis., labs. Write to her at [email protected].