By Brian C. Reed, DataDirect Technologies
COMMENTARY--For the latest industry innovation of Web Services, the milestones for success are broader than just technology. Web Services, in simplest terms, delivers interoperability—the ability to run software components across the Internet through standard protocols and interfaces.
While Web Services' exciting premise is to bring simpler interactive and dynamic online business models, these innovative opportunities are for a far off future. This future lies beyond the crossroads where technological issues such as security, privacy and transactional integrity meet with the sociological issues of trust.
Web Services will ultimately roll out in a series of phases, where, fundamentally, the proliferation of Web Services may be hampered not by technology capabilities but by the industry's sense of safety.
A look through the rear view mirror
The first generation Web facilitated information sharing while the second generation involved intermittently successful B2C and B2B transactions. The third generation, largely identified with Web Services, is focused on running widely distributed applications across the Internet, unbound from any single application or system, forming new kinds of business processes.
Upon reflection, one might consider that the success of the first generation Web was driven largely by simplicity and ubiquity while the scattered successes and failures of the second were due to sociological --not technological -- issues. Fundamentally, the technology worked for B2C and B2B, but many simply did not trust it. The path to the successful adoption of Web Services lies in the realization of the impact of trust on the technology. If these lessons are not heeded, failure will be repeated.
The trust factor
Trust is about confidence. Trust is about assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something. Our global economy operates based on trust, and companies have been doing business for centuries backed by varying degrees of trust.
If we look specifically at the finance and banking industries, for example, we see that consistently one of the top reasons customers choose a particular institution is trust. Interestingly enough, a recent survey from the industry analyst firm Gartner showed that "banks are the Internet's most trusted consumer service providers." In the end, the banking industry has been able to transition the "trust" of their traditional business -- along with tremendous investments in technology -- over to the realm of the Web.
The phases of Web Services
The transition of trust from classic business to Internet business in finance and banking occurred over a period of time and through a series of phases. If we take an even wider view of the industry, these phases are likely to occur with Web Services.
* Phase 1: Web Services for internal back office
* Phase 2: Private business collaboration through Web Services
* Phase 3: Dynamic, innovative Web Services systems deployed globally
While most organizations and vendors look ahead the excitement of phase 3, the first two phases are still the most realistic. Why? Because of Trust. The first two phases of Web Services enable the industry to quickly gain value from the new simpler interoperability while it works diligently to institute standards that will protect the integrity of their business transactions and proprietary information.
The state of Web Services
Currently in Phase 1, the back office deployment of Web Services is evolving much like early intranets. Web Services can deliver internal quick-hit, high-value impact and remain totally secure behind the firewall. Typical of emerging technology, the industry has a myriad of competing security, privacy and transaction integrity proposals for Web Services.
Moving into Phase 2, likely 18 to 24 months from now, Web Services will evolve into a simpler way of collaboration for business trading partners with whom organizations already have trading relationships formed outside the boundaries of the electronic world. As the industry "bumps" into their first experiences with trust, companies will use whatever security, privacy and transaction integrity technologies these closely linked business partners can agree upon -- generally proprietary or of varying evolving standards.
Finally, Phase 3 is likely four or more years in the future. Here, both the technology and sociological issues will have evolved to the point of broad commercial acceptance Web Services. Building upon the experiences of private partners in Phase 2 and leading institutions of trust like finance and banking, Web Services should have evolved substantially to drive a major wave into the main market with varying degrees of standardization. Note that B2B eMarketplaces of the past largely failed because they were unable to move to this phase in a trustworthy way.
Forging ahead
From a technology perspective, organizations can embrace Web Services for immediate, high-impact opportunities while designing Web Services into their long-term architectural future. In order to speed trust of the technology, organizations must get involved in standards bodies and drive their vendor suppliers to reasonably and quickly agree on standards for security, privacy and transactional integrity. Then, while the technology people chase the technology solutions, it is imperative that the rest of us work across the industry to ensure a full fabric of trust.
Brian C. Reed is Vice President of Business Development and Strategic Planning, at DataDirect Technologies, the leading supplier of components for connecting data and applications across diverse environments such as Java, .NET and Legacy.
