Tobacco firm shifts development to SOA

Heather Havenstein   Today’s Top Stories    or  Other SOA & Web Services Stories  

Sign up to receive Security Resource Alerts

May 02, 2005 (Computerworld) -- British American Tobacco PLC this week will start moving developers at 180 locations worldwide to a new development platform as the company begins to build most new applications as services.

The London-based supplier of tobacco products plans to move developers using tools from Oracle Corp., Microsoft Corp. and IBM to service-oriented architecture (SOA) tools from Skyway Software for almost all new custom development, said Kevin Poulter, application technology manager at British American.

This week, 15 developers in British American's Kuala Lumpur group services division will begin using Skyway's SOA Builder software.

Developers at other locations will start using the tools throughout the year. Poulter said he expects that applications built using the tools will go into production during the second half of the year.

British American, which has used Web services to integrate applications since 2002, will also use Skyway to migrate existing applications worldwide—including 6,000 built in Lotus Domino and 200 custom applications used at its headquarters—to Web services and services native to Java.

"We wanted to get all those developers brought onto a common platform," Poulter said. "It gives us much better options in consolidating infrastructure for cost savings."

The company hasn't calculated potential cost savings from the shift to an SOA-based application development model. But Poulter noted that using Web services to integrate applications over the past two years has been 60% to 70% cheaper than traditional hard-coded integration.

The move will also help support British American's architectural vision of running "loosely coupled" composite applications made up of processes that can be easily tied together or uncoupled when business requirements change, Poulter said. For example, the company has built a Web service that provides daily updates to its global procurement system, based on fluctuating exchange rates.

To support the move to an SOA, British American developers must shift from focusing on coding to working on incorporating business requirements into new composite applications, Poulter said.

"You're trying to [bring] people to a higher-level development paradigm so they are closer to the business-analyst-type developer," he said.

Skyway's SOA Platform offerings provide model-driven development techniques that allow developers to build services, processes and applications without having to write code or know programming languages, said Jared Rodriguez, CEO of Tampa-based Skyway.

Daryl Plummer, an analyst at Gartner Inc., said Skyway's tools are an example of a so-called integrated service environment (ISE) designed to allow developers to assemble services for creating new applications without coding.

"With an ISE, you get the pieces—it may be a Web service, a Java component, .Net component, a file or a database," Plummer said. "The work is at a higher level of abstraction, so it is not code work, it is assembly work. You have to be able to figure out which pieces you want and make sure they have the right data and that you can relate them to other pieces."

PRODUCT DETAILS

Skyway's SOA Builder Tools Use modeling for designing, constructing and assembling components into services. Require no coding or knowledge of programming languages. Allow developers to connect to databases, native Java services and Web services. Support multiple developers with a graphical, network-aware version-control repository.

Print this Story

Send Us Feedback

E-mail this Story

Digg this Story

Slashdot this Story

"Dear me. Just because I recently talked about Windows XP SP3's virtues and vices, some people seem to think I've..." Read more... "Security people can talk until they're blue in the face about the dangers of unsecured Windows PCs and how they..." Read more... Read more Internet posts or See all Blogs

Hackers hijack a half-million sites in latest attack HP in talks to buy EDS for up to $13B Microsoft faults OEMs for some XP SP3 endless reboots More top stories...

Mozilla slates Firefox 3.0 RC1 for late May IPhone out of stock 'companywide,' say Apple sales reps Cisco data center chief steps down

5 easy ways to commit career suicide Mistakes such as putting down co-workers or burning bridges when you resign are surefire ways to darken your career prospects. Here's how to avoid them Opinion: Get ready for these 6 game-changing technologies Hype and promises abound in the IT world, but these six breakthroughs really will change your life, says author and former IT manager John Brandon. What brain drain? Baby boomers are retiring and taking their knowledge with them. Why do so few in IT seem to care? Tales from the crypt: Our first computers Computerworld editors share stories of their first PCs, including some classics and some real clunkers -- then we ask readers to share their early-PC tales. Windows Vista A to Z Reviews, analyses, how-tos, visual tours, hot issues and predictions about Microsoft's new OS. More Continuing Coverage After 9/11: Homeland SecurityAsk a Premier 100 IT LeaderBlackBerry Legal BattleData Security BreachesElectronic VotingFirefoxH-1B VisasHP's Boardroom ScandalHandheld DevicesHurricane Katrina AftermathMicrosoft Legal IssuesMicrosoft's VistaOpen SourceRFID TechnologySCO's Linux FightSarbanes-Oxley ActSpamVoice Over IPWi-FiWindows Meta File VulnerabilityWindows XP Service Pack 2 IT Careers 2010 Four years from now, the IT field will be a vastly different place. Will you be ready? More Special Reports Premier 100 IT Leaders 2007 Best in Class2006 Computerworld Horizon Awards2006 Premier 100 IT Leaders2006 Salary Survey2007 Best Places to Work in IT2007 IT Forecast2007 Premier 100 IT Leaders40 Years of ComputerworldASPs, Take TwoBest Places to Work in IT 2003Best Places to Work in IT 2004Best Places to Work in IT 2005Best Places to Work in IT 2006Business Intelligence Home RunsBusiness Intelligence: Smarter BIBusiness Intelligence: The Future of BICRM Goes VerticalCRM: Sober CRMCareer Planning Guide 2005Careers: IT Profession 2010Computerworld Horizon Awards 2005Data Management: Mining for GemsData Management: Taming Data ChaosDevelopment: Hard-Workin' Web SitesDevelopment: New Tools New ChoicesDevelopment: The New World of Application DevelopmentDevelopment: The Web Services TsunamiDevelopment: Web Services HurdlesDisaster Recovery: Preparing for the WorstE-commerce Grows UpE-mail/Groupware: Big DecisionsFaces of Mobile ITForecast 2006Global MobileHardware: Multiple Cores, Multiple ChallengesHardware: On-Demand Un-HypedHardware: The Shape of Things to ComeHorizon Awards: 10 Cool Cutting Edge TechnologiesIT Management: Guide to Managing VendorsIT Management: Navigating Global ITIT Management: Recovery AheadIT Management: The Future of ITIT Management: The Resourceful Project ManagerInnovative Technology Awards 2004Management: Reinventing ITMicrosoft in TransitionMobile/Wireless Leaders and LaggardsMobile/Wireless: The Untethered WorkerMobile/Wireless: Tiny Gadgets, Huge CostsNetwork Management: Taking ControlNetworking: Turbulence Ahead!Networking: VoIP Goes MainstreamOperating Systems: In the Slow LaneOperating Systems: Linux Goes GlobalOperating Systems: Should You Nix Unix?Outsourcing: Offshore Buyer's GuideOutsourcing: Outsourcing DangersPremier 100 IT Leaders 2004 Best in ClassPremier 100 IT Leaders 2005 Best in ClassROI: Do the Math!Salary Survey 2003Salary Survey 2004Salary Survey 2005Security Action PlanSecurity: Compliance HeadachesSecurity: Proactive SecuritySecurity: Risk and RewardSecurity: Tips From Security ProsSouped-up SecurityStorage: Battling ComplexityStorage: Cheap & Secure Data StoresStorage: Stretching Your Storage DollarsStorage: The Lean Storage MachineStorage: The New Rules of StorageStorage: The Ultimate Backup GuideSupply Chain: Missing LinksSupply Chain: RFID Reality CheckThe Business of SecurityWeb 2.0 SecurityWireless: Wireless At Work All Zones Application Performance Zone Enterprise-Class Security Zone Enterprise Solutions Zone The File Data Management Zone Grid Computing on Windows Zone Security Management Zone ITIL Best Practices Zone The SAS Zone Storage Virtualization Zone The Data Center Management Zone See your link here

Long Tail Supplier Collaboration - What's In It For You? Long Tail Supplier Collaboration - What's In It For You? Download this webcast, free, compliments of Sterling Commerce Go to the webcast  Virtualization Everywhere Download this white paper, free, compliments of Citrix. (Source: Citrix) Adoption of virtualization is concentrated among large enterprises, while adoption by mid-sized companies has been much slower. For these companies, the cost and complexity of server virtualization solutions has been a barrier. In this paper, we'll discuss how Citrix XenServer" provides simple, economical server virtualization for any size company. Download now! Download this white paper  Computerworld Report : Smart Storage Download this Computerworld report, free for a limited time, compliments of HP. (Source: Computerworld) Faced with growing demands, immature tools and a confusing array of technologies, IT decision-makers have to make some strategic choices. Learn how to avoid the pitfalls in this Computerworld report, a $49.95 value, available free for a limited time, compliments of HP. Download this executive briefing  White Papers Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services. New Fujitsu High-End Itanium Windows- and Linux-Based PRIMEQUEST Servers Offer the Utmost in High Availability New Fujitsu High-End Itanium-Based PRIMEQUEST Servers Offer Industry-Leading System Management for Linux and Windows Symantec State of the Data Center Report 2007 View more whitepapers

• Hackers hijack a half-million sites in latest attack
• HP in talks to buy EDS for up to $13B
• Microsoft faults OEMs for some XP SP3 endless reboots
• More top stories 

Detect, identify, and locate RF interference in 802.11 WLANs. AnalyzeAir software provides IT network professionals with the vision they need into the hidden world of RF, providing them with the ability to see the spectrum in a visible and intelligible format. AnalyzeAir software lets you see, monitor, analyze, and manage all the RF sources and wireless devices that influence your Wi-Fi network's performance and security, even if those devices are unauthorized or transient. AnalyzeAir Trial Software v3.1 highlights the features found in AnalyzeAir Software using a set of saved spectrum files. Replay the data and experience the visibility that AnalyzeAir Wi-Fi Spectrum Analyzer provides. Note: The trial software is limited to a player version only. It does not communicate with an AnalyzeAir PC card so it does not collect actual spectrum data. Register for this trial now.



Try Fluke Networks' EtherScope Analyzer on your network FREE Quickly solve the wide range of problems you encounter - 10, 100 and Gigabit, twisted pair and optical fiber, LAN or wireless LAN. The EtherScope Analyzer combines the essential tools you need to monitor network traffic and switch interfaces, discover devices, networks, VLANs, access points, mobile clients and more. See the power of this portable network analyzer on your network. Request free trial now *Terms and conditions: Evaluation units are available only for a limited time and will be scheduled on a first-come first-served basis. Not available in all geographies. Limited quantities available; customers requesting evaluation units may be waitlisted for the next available unit. It will be at the discretion of Fluke Networks to accept or decline requests for this free evaluation.