4. Business services

Just as it makes sense to pool a set of technical functions essential to Web-based applications in the form of independent, standard services, it can also be advantageous to share services relating to certain major corporate functions, whatever the business sector. These functions are generally linked to e-commerce, and ultimately aim to reproduce real-world commercial transactions (transactions, contracts, invoicing, payment, etc.) in the virtual world.

Business Web services provide Web application developers with a set of specifications and runtime engines that facilitate the deployment of distributed Web applications in specific sectors or for identified vertical business processes:

• e-speak from Hewlett-Packard, one of the most interesting features of which is its focus on putting pre-existing applications online...