Web Services

Internet technology allows many millions(billions) of users to communicate with each other across the globe. This already works well for unstructured information such as e.mails and also for people to access information on-line, provided that it is reasonably self-evident.

Individuals can also undertake simple transactions economically. Many more buyers and sellers can be put in touch with each other at the same time, sometimes resulting in better prices for buyers (e.g. in e.auctions), and sometimes for sellers (e.g. for scarce items). The potential is immense. Costs are defrayed through subscriptions, advertising and in the costs of goods and services.

Where organisations wish to communicate, process and action substantial data automatically, data and messages need to be well structured. This has been difficult so far to achieve across the Internet, although EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) using pre-Internet syntaxes and Value Added Networks have successfully and economically processed large volumes of such business data for many years.

Where you know well the organisations with whom you are communicating, have agreed more simple and standard business processes, have uniquely identified the items being traded and the locations involved in your value chain, have well structured your descriptive item master data, have pre-aligned your master data with your customers and suppliers, and have agreed a set of standard meanings for all your shared data and messages, your e.business communications can be straightforward and economic. The above provisos indicate that any well-structured form of e.business across the Internet, or any other network, will not be simple and low cost merely because of the technology, since technology itself does not deal with these pre-requisities. Indeed, if these pre-conditions are met, you can use existing EDI syntaxes (such as EDIFACT and TRADACOMS, preferably based on common Simpl.EDI/e.b definitions) to achieve low cost and secure e.business communications, especially where human intervention is unnecessary.

However, Internet technology is attempting to address these problems and opportunities so that applications and data across various value chains can be well integrated. XML (extensible mark-up language) is a valuable attempt to describe data and messages for use across the Internet so that they can be sent to and received from many sites who have not previously agreed to standard business processes, identities, etc. ebXML is the version of XML being developed by UN/CEFACT and the OASIS consortium of companies which hopefully will achieve a single, standard framework for XML.

WEB SERVICES attempts to take this approach a stage further. This recognises that the conditions shown above are not usually met at present, but that many companies would like to be able to communicate successfully with many current and potential trading partners using the Internet without all the prior hard work that these conditions involve. Businesses and public sector organisations would like to be able to access service providers' applications automatically, and then extract data, or initiate an action/transaction, e.g. to examine the progress of a shipment and, if necessary to alter their requirements.

Web Services may be grouped into 3 categories -

1. Exchange Formats
   These include XML for data encoding and data specification. SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is used to pre-define encoding rules, to provide an envelope for an XML message to carry it between service providers, requesters, etc, and also to provide headers, which, for example, could be used for digital signatures.

   These formats also include the network protocols - Internet wire protocols such as HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), and FTP (File Transfer Protocol.) - and enterprise level protocols (e.g. RMI/IIOP, MQ Series).

2. Descriptions
   These are the formal definitions of the format, use or application. All service descriptions are expressed using XML. However a Web Services Description Language (WSDL) is used to define network addresses and also the sets of operations and their inputs and outputs. Work is going on to provide mechanisms to describe how services may be combined and integrated.
3. Searches
   These show how to seek and find (discover) the components of Web Services that you need e.g. business partners and their services. The directory is known as UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery and Integration). Business Process Execution is achieved via BPEL4WS.

There are ongoing discussions between the various "guardians" of web standards, such as OASIS and W3C, along with the leading suppliers, such as Microsoft and IBM on one wing (promoting .Net technology) and Sun etc. on the other (promoting J2EE).

The above may be telling you more than you want to know! Clearly, finding your way across the Internet to undertake less than well organised business activities is not going to be easy or inexpensive. Web Services aim to solve some of the problems that XML cannot do on its own, but at a greater overhead cost. Much more data will need to be communicated than when organisations have already formally recognised each other and synchronised their master data. Web Services seek to achieve applications integration by reducing the pain of restructuring processes. It has therefore great potential, but an indefinite timescale.

As with most new technologies, there are potential nuggets of gold here. So, keep panning.

Some applications are already in operation using Web Services -

• The Singapore Government uses WS to integrate its user services with its portal
• Oanda.com provides a currency exchange rate download service to enable the rates to be used automatically in internal financial applications.
• SNCF, the French National Railways, uses WS to integrate sales of its tickets with other travel and hotel offerings.

For further information on Web Services and XML, as well as EDI and other aspects of e.business, contact the UKPeb Partners, who will be happy to direct you to the correct source of experienced advice.