The Savvy Manager's Guide to Web Services and Service-Oriented Architectures FROM OUR EDITORS
The Barnes & Noble Review
Web services blah blah blah revolutionary blah blah competitive advantage blah. That's how web services technology sounds to managers -- especially those who've been burned by previous "technological revolutions." And yet...there does seem to be something promising here. But what, exactly?
What would a web services–oriented architecture look like in practice? What business benefits would it really offer? How would you overcome the obstacles to implementation?
Read The Savvy Manager's Guide to Web Services and Service-Oriented Architectures and find out.
Barry sets the stage by walking through a businessperson's typical day in an environment in which service-oriented architectures have been successfully implemented: drawing on customer contacts from an enterprise-wide online repository; obtaining company contact information from external CRM services; leveraging online calendar services to coordinate partner meetings; making easier and quicker travel reservations; and more.
Next, he illuminates the web services and service-oriented architecture paradigms while stripping away the jargon that's stood in the way of understanding. You'll learn how WSDL, UDDI, SOAP, and XML fit into the picture; what you need to know about integration and security; and how all this fits with the middleware you've already paid for (good news: You needn't abandon CORBA or DCOM).
Barry describes short-term wins for web services in the enterprise, including better internal and B2B connectivity; then outlines the "next steps" towards a true service-oriented architecture. He especially focuses on management issues: why architectural initiatives fail; how to overcome resistance to change within IT; and so forth.
Perhaps most useful of all: a five-step migration plan (start with small-scale experiments; adapt existing systems to use web services; remove intersystem dependencies; establish an internal service-oriented architecture; and finally, expand your architecture to encompass external services). From staffing to technology, managing data to managing change, this is essential reading for managers who want the real deal on web services. Bill Camarda
Bill Camarda is a consultant, writer, and web/multimedia content developer. His 15 books include Special Edition Using Word 2000 and Upgrading & Fixing Networks For Dummies®, Second Edition.
ANNOTATION
Audience: IT managers, technical leads, analysts, programmers, and consultants.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
This book provides both practical leadership and architectural advice on how to prepare an organization to take advantage of Web services and service-oriented architectures, bridging the gap between the data-centric and the software engineering worlds. The author begins with a high-level example of how an average person in an organization might interact with a service-oriented architecture, and then explains each of the technologies in jargon-free language. As the books progresses, the author reveals more technical detail in increasing depth, and explores leadership opportunities and pitfalls. This book also includes a quick-reference guide to technology buzzwords, and acronyms for those times when a mere glossary definition won't suffice.
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