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An Internal Focus, for Now at Least
Although vendors such as Microsoft Corp. are busy touting their Web services architectures, enterprises arent yet ready to use the technologies to connect with new external business partners, according to a survey released last month by Jupiter Media Metrix Inc., of New York. Only 16 percent of the 471 U.S. IT executives surveyed reported plans to use Web services with new partners in the next year, Jupiter found.
That doesnt mean enterprises are ignoring Web services. Sixty percent of the IT executives plan to use technologies such as Microsofts .Net architecture to connect internal applications in the next year, and 43 percent plan to deploy Web services to interact with current suppliers and partners. For 23 percent, Web services arent in their plans at all in the next year, Jupiter found.
Why are IT managers interested? For 49 percent, its a way to cut integration costs, while 44 percent hope to generate new revenues by using the technology, according to the Jupiter survey.
Consumers Cool to Microsoft Passport
While Microsofts Passport service is at the heart of its HailStorm Web services push, most consumers have little interest in using it, according to analysts at Gartner Inc., of Stamford, Conn. About 70 percent of U.S. consumers have yet to sign up for the service, Gartner found, and of the 8 million who have signed up for Passport, most have done so to use services such as Hotmail e-mail. Only 11 percent say they strongly believe it will improve their online experience.