August 16, 2004 (Computerworld) --
Last year, we boldly predicted a Web services tsunami , with XML and SOAP changing a wide swath of IT development. OK, so it's really more like a rushing river than a tidal wave. But the river is still swelling. A recent IDC survey of 197 IT managers shows that about a third of the respondents have completed one or more Web services projects, and more than a third are either evaluating the technology or doing a pilot project. Much of the activity involves employee portals, e-commerce, back-office applications and even mission-critical work, IDC says.
But a tsunami it's not. Why? As usual, the technology is more difficult to implement than the vendors would have you believe. Pilot projects aren't so bad, but even well-funded adopters in the financial services industry have found it tricky to come up with a service-oriented architecture (SOA) for the whole company. So we're taking a more sober look this year. Our first story is about the challenges of SOA granularity, repositories and governance (page 34).
IDC says the top barriers to Web services adoption are a simple lack of money and a not-so-simple lack of security. We can't help you with the budget, but we do have an update on the security issues (page 37). We also cover the topic of message reliability, which doesn't rank as a burning issue yet, but IDC says it will become one as the volume, scale and complexity of projects grow (page 36).
"Debian 5, Lenny, was due out at the end of the September. Whoops. There are still some last-minute details that..."
Read more...
"Linux has had a hate/hate relationship with Broadcom. Linux users need Broadcom Wi-Fi drivers. Broadcom does a lousy job of..."
Read more... Read more Development posts or See all Blogs
Advances in SSL and Certificate Management View this webcast now! 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!
Learn-Fast Guide: Software as a Service is Growing Up
Download this Computerworld Executive Briefing, a $195 value, for free! Compliments of Akamai. (Source: Computerworld) SaaS is here to stay as an application delivery channel. You will be using it, but will you do so wisely? This Learn-Fast Guide will prepare you for software delivered over the Web. From security issues to contract negotiations, there's a lot to consider ... and a lot to gain. Download this executive briefing
White Papers
Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services.