Web Services

The term Web services describes a standardized way of integrating Web-based applications using the XML, SOAP, WSDL and UDDI open standards over an Internet protocol backbone. XML is used to tag the data, SOAP is used to transfer the data, WSDL is used for describing the services available and UDDI is used for listing what services are available. Used primarily as a means for businesses to communicate with each other and with clients, Web services allow organizations to communicate data without intimate knowledge of each other's IT systems behind the firewall.
Unlike traditional client/server models, such as a Web server/Web page system, Web services do not provide the user with a GUI. Web services instead share business logic, data and processes through a programmatic interface across a network. The applications interface, not the users. Developers can then add the Web service to a GUI (such as a Web page or an executable program) to offer specific functionality to users.

Web services allow different applications from different sources to communicate with each other without time-consuming custom coding, and because all communication is in XML, Web services are not tied to any one operating system or programming language. For example, Java can talk with Perl, Windows applications can talk with UNIX applications.

Web services do not require the use of browsers or HTML.

Web services are sometimes called application services. If we don't have a partnership that has a knowledge base of your software applications, we will locate a top firm who is familiar with your web services for you and bring them in specifically to handle your business.

Technology is so pervasive and has advanced so rapidly that it's changed every aspect of how you do business; and it impacts your growth, productivity, quality levels and customer service. It's a consumer-driven, global marketplace so your company has to be easy to do business with; and that means you need a cost-efficient, seamless end-to-end supply chain that can respond to changes quickly. To keep ahead of your competition, your enterprise must be agile and your operations must become streamlined, using emerging event-driven technologies. With today's accelerating business cycles, applications are becoming legacy within 18–24 months, and the legacy systems you have now present a barrier to your ability to compete effectively.