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 The Web Services Value Chain
Reproduced with kind permission of TechMetrix Research 
Article written by: JEAN-CHRISTOPHE CIMETIERE, CEO and Lead Analyst (jcc@techmetrix.com  )
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Special Announcement: Sign up today to become a TechMetrix Member . The best part is Membership is absolutely FREE and benefits include: access to free white papers and reports, access to the upcoming Web Services Solutions Directory, etc.
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- Introduction
Over the past months we've focused on evaluating the core technologies
underpinning Web Services: SOAP, XML and WSDL. We also tested
and evaluated the SOAP capabilities of some application
servers, and assessed real commercial Web Services. In the
coming months, TechMetrix Research will be publishing more
detailed reports and reviews on Web Services; in the meantime,
we'll give you a sneak preview of some of our findings.
Our research work is still underway, but we've already tested
a number of solutions, and talked to vendors and clients
to figure out the shape of the Web Services value chain.
We have identified the following levels:
- Application Server Infrastructure (J2EE, MS.NET, OSS…)
- Standards (XML, SOAP, WSL)
- Web Services Server (Security, authentication, session…)
- Web Services Developers (Develop the Web Services)
- Web Services Marketers (Sell the Web Services)
- Application Server Infrastructure
As we pointed out in our article "Does the App Server market still exist? ," even though
the number of vendors is still high, the application server
market is shrinking and most of the attention is focused
on a select few options:
- J2EE solutions
- Microsoft Platform
- And ultimately, various solutions including Open Source (J2EE/non-J2EE)
The software vendors have all done their homework on Web Services, and have all at least announced a strategy.
In the coming months, support for Web Services will become
a key feature when choosing an application server. The general
criteria for evaluating Web Services Support can already
be laid down:
- Use/Re-use of existing components/business objects
- Productivity of the tools for Web Services enablement
- Performance and reliability (load balancing/failover)
- Compliance with standards
This last item (standards) is the next level in the value chain we are describing.
- Standards
It is easy to pinpoint the building blocks enabling the concept of Web Services to become a reality today:
- XML: format for data exchange and description
- SOAP: protocol for calling Web Services
- WSDL: format for describing Web Services
- UDDI: central organization for registering, finding and using Web Services
These four technologies are closely linked, although on closer inspection we can highlight the two basic standards that have led to the Internet's success: HTTP and XML (bear in
mind that HTML is derived from XML).
Of the four standards, the least interesting is UDDI. Although it has the great ambition of becoming the absolute, universal
distributed repository for finding/using Web Services, UDDI has little chance of really becoming part of the game. Its
ambitions are too broad, and certainly not appropriate for what enterprises are likely to need. This doesn't mean there
is no need whatsoever for Web Service repositories, but enterprises may need private and custom repositories to
truly manage their relationship with partners. In fact, a Web Service is just a resource, and hence it can be easily
referenced, controlled and secured using existing technologies such as LDAP directories. So don't pay too much attention
to UDDI, because it is not the key element.
There are other technical initiatives involving Web Services that are worth keeping an eye on, such as XAML (http://www.xaml.org/ ) which describes itself as follows: "Transaction Authority Markup Language (XAML) is a vendor-neutral standard that enables the coordination and processing of online transactions in the rapidly emerging world of XML Web services."
Besides these technical standardizations, we find various industry-related initiatives such as ebXML, RosettaNet and Biztalk.org. Each one is different but they share a common goal: to automate
e-business transactions through a set of standard technologies (mainly XML). In future analyses, we will provide full descriptions of the main iIndustry-related standards. For now, SOAP and
WSDL are actual specifications that do the job, and numerous products already include implementations of these standards, creating a new category of products that we have called
"Web Services Servers".
- Web Services Servers
A new breed of application servers? Or simply the next step for most application server vendors?
The answer to both questions is yes.
There are already several solutions dedicated to Web Services development.
Here is a short list:
Note
that in June 2001, TechMetrix will launch its Web Services
directory, featuring the most comprehensive list of Web
Service Server Solutions with product profiles, comments,
info, and so on. If you are already a member,
log on and check your profile option or sign
up now to receive the e-mail alerts.
As we have mentioned, application server vendors are doing
their homework, but most of them are currently "patching"
their products with SOAP libraries and basic listeners.
This leaves some room for new players with solutions at
the cutting edge of technology.
To get back to the evaluation criteria for Web Services solutions,
here is how we might split the pros/cons:
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In favor of "classical" application servers
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In favor of "new" Web Services Servers
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Use/Re-use of existing components/business objects
Performance and reliability (load balancing/failover)
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Productivity of the tools for Web Services enablement
Compliance with standardsv
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- Web Service Developers and Marketers
These are the two remaining layers which complete the value chain:
Web Services Developers and Marketers.
They may be the same or different companies. We have separated
them simply to highlight their different jobs, and we can
identify two categories:
- End-user enterprises (that use IT to run their business but
don't sell IT): In every industry, every company has the
possibility of becoming a Web Service Developer and Marketer,
in order to improve its B2B processes, to develop new
channels, etc.
- Web Service Providers: this is a new category of players
who provide vertical or horizontal Web Services. Take
a look at our White Paper on Sevina e-service , for instance, an early
Web Services provider.
So if you are an End-User enterprise, try to think what might
be the most appropriate services to enable first. Then,
once you've completed the technical task (primarily, SOAP-enabling
your services, among other things), you'll be able to add
new partners and develop new channels faster and with less
custom coding costs. Meanwhile, you'll be able to strengthen
links and processes with your existing partners.
Web Services Providers can been seen as the next generation
of Application Service Providers (ASPs). Remember the Application
Service Provider hype in late 1999? The reality check came
in 2000, when people realized you couldn't rent out traditional
applications (SAP, for example) that hadn't been designed
to be delivered that way. So what's next for ASP providers
- bankruptcy? Maybe for some, but we may see others become
Web Service Providers (WSP). Beyond the name change, it's
not a big turnaround for current ASPs, as ultimately they
will be hosting applications. The real value will come from
creating genuine hubs of Web Services, delivering standard
access methods and providing top-notch Service Level Agreements.
- Conclusion
We have written this analysis to help you understand the different
layers that make up the value chain of Web Services. For
each layer or set of layers there are a number of players
that can be identified, each of whom focuses on one level
in particular (back-office level or application level).
However, there is one exception: Microsoft. As well as providing
solutions based on standards (SOAP), Microsoft has been
very evangelical about Web Services. But MS doesn't stop
there, as a technology provider. Instead, it goes further,
with Microsoft HailStorm (http://www.microsoft.com/net/hailstorm.asp ).
HailStorm is a collection of Web Services, which is user-centric and,
as Microsoft says, puts "users in control of their own
data and information, protecting personal information and
providing a new level of ease of use and personalization".
The HailStorm hub of Web services is expected for the end
of 2001 in Beta. Microsoft's investment on Web Services
is huge, at all levels.
TechMetrix will be keeping an eye on interoperability issues for its
customers, making sure that the good ideas from Microsoft
and other vendors don't keep you completely locked in.
The Web Services Value Chain
Reproduced with kind permission of TechMetrix Research
Article written by: JEAN-CHRISTOPHE CIMETIERE, CEO and Lead Analyst (jcc@techmetrix.com )
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Special Announcement: Sign up today to become a TechMetrix Member . The best part is Membership is absolutely FREE and benefits include: access to free white papers and reports, access to the upcoming Web Services Solutions Directory, etc.
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