Web Services where are we going and why?  

I have written in the past about architecture by intent, but sometimes I lose track of the intent. It is always necessary to take a step back, now and then, and ask why? Web services are going to revolutionize how we write applications by accelerating the move to service orientated architecture (SOA). The are going to change the way we operate our value chains by moving to a loosely coupled architecture. They are going to move the mind set of architects to think in terms of producers and consumers of services rather than integration. These seem more like solutions to point problems rather than solutions.

As a CTO you wear two hats - business and technical. As an architect I relish in this move as I can see it solving many of the problems that have plagued our industry for years and it is going to usher in the next wave of computing architecture that will enable more scalable systems and organizations. On the other hand my business side needs to ask why? Is better, faster, quicker going to result in anything? It may save on the cost side of the equation but when is it going to create an environment when we get real value from all the IT investment?

I suppose the fact that I even asked the question indicates I might see a possible answer... The answer that everyone is looking for is shared context or visibility into the metadata around the products we ship. Consider an extended value chain from the producers of raw materials through finished goods to distributors, retailers and customers. If there was a complete shared context among all parties and the final consumer there would be the ability to optimize the entire value chain rather than just moving costs around between players.

This is the true value of web services and the resulting common infrastructure that is being built. If is not about SOAP versus REST or encoding styles. It is about universal communication between business processes. The EAI and B2B companies have made great strides in this area but are ultimately stalling because they all rely on propriety systems. They will support the notion of web services but they are still missing the fundamental concept - it is about enabling communication and shared context that is going to lead to the next revolution.

Therefore the intent we need to focus on is to enable shared context - what standards and tools allow the best way to create relationships among departments, organizations? How do they enable these relationships to deepen and provide more shared context to make decisions? This needs to be the focus of our intent !

posted by John McDowall | 9:19 PM