Web services introduce a paradigm shift

Infoconomy excels as ever with a very thorough, well-researched and informative overview of web services and what they mean for businesses, concluding with this powerful message: "Web services will be a paradigm shift in the way applications are sourced, developed and deployed, resulting in a fundamental change in the way businesses interact."
posted by Phil Wainewright 11:37 AM (GMT) | comments | link

Liberty Alliance promises Passport alternative

When Microsoft first set out the role that Passport would play in its Hailstorm initiative announced back in March, I suggested that it might well end up providing a cue for banks to step into the online provider market. Yesterday (as previewed in my previous posting) the Liberty Alliance stepped forward to campaign for a neutral, open alternative to Passport, with a rollcall of charter members that includes Bank of America along with other trusted brands such as Dun & Bradstreet, General Motors, Sabre, Sony and United Airlines. Also notable on the list were Hailstorm partners eBay and Verisign. Unfortunately the gravity of these heavyweight names was somewhat diluted by the absence of any substance in the announcement itself. But at least it's a start.
posted by Phil Wainewright 6:38 AM (GMT) | comments | link

Groundswell forms against Passport

ASPnews published my take on Microsoft's recent Passport announcement today, and not a moment too soon. Along comes news that Sun and its allies think the same way as me, and they plan to announce work on a rival service tomorrow. Apparently the project is codenamed 'Liberty', which of course is something we are all ready to campaign for, especially these days. I just hope the reality, whenever it arrives, lives up to the vision. We'll know more tomorrow.
posted by Phil Wainewright 11:41 AM (GMT) | comments | link

Aspirations and shortcomings of web services

Campaigning webledger advocate Todd Boyle has drawn my attention to a good article about the current shortcomings of web services architectures, written by Iona Technologies chief architect, Steve Vinoski, who clearly has a rich understanding of the whole history of online distributed systems. I especially like his explanation of web services as extending the web from a two-tier browser-server architecture into a multi-tier, any-to-any system.
posted by Phil Wainewright 11:45 AM (GMT) | comments | link