Systinet dials up web services directory
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The rapid adoption of SOA has encouraged a wave of interest in centralised, integrated web services orchestration products; but thus far most of these have focused on the technical integration of the services, rather than on the building of business directories. That is the opportunity that Systinet is now hoping to exploit
Right from the outset, it was clear that if standardised web services were ever to be properly and widely used - and re-used - then users would first have to be able to locate, categorise and understand them.
The originators knew this and proposed an obvious answer: use a distributed directory that itself can be accessed as a web service. So it was that UDDI (Universal Discovery Description and Integration) directories came to be a key part of the core web services standards set. That was back in 2000. But since then, UDDI directory technology appears to have taken a wrong turn, and then, to have been neglected.
The wrong turn came with the first wave of hype. Big companies, such as Microsoft and IBM, argued that an automated, Internet-wide market for web services would soon be built, and some well-funded start-ups, such as Bowstreet, attempted to take the lead. But in the event, dozens of major issues prevented this public web services market from developing.
Since then, most web services activity has focused on point-to-point integration between applications within companies; although directories have always been seen as important, they have not received the investment or attention that once seemed likely.
Until now, that is. The rapid adoption of SOA (service-oriented architectures) has encouraged a wave of interest in centralised, integrated web services orchestration products; but thus far most of these have focused on the technical integration of the services, rather than on the building of business directories.
That is the opportunity that Systinet, a US-European start-up, is now hoping to exploit. It has built what is already recognised as the most comprehensive directory for locating, analysing, categorising and monitoring web services.
The company is tiny in a sector attracting the interest of heavyweights, but it has some strong credentials. It was founded by Roman Stanek, a Czech software engineer who had earlier created Netbeans (later bought by Sun to become JavaBeans), an important component technology for application server-based software development; and in 2004, it recruited Tom Erickson, former international head of WebMethods, as its CEO.
Most importantly, Systinet already has enterprise customers - over 160. These include Amazon.com, T-Mobile, the German government and, most recently, the US Navy. FileNet, Cognos, BMC Software and Interwoven are among its resellers.
Systinet believes that there is a clear need for a sophisticated directory suite that will not be part of the basic platform, but will stand apart, offering more sophisticated management functions. The Systinet Business Service Registry, for example, is not just a registry and description of services, it also addresses security, change and lifecycle management, as well as quality of service. These features are essential to businesses who must have a clear idea of the status of any web service they use, says Erickson. Furthermore, Stanek believes that these features make Systinet "the closest thing to an SOA platform" that exists.
