June 13, 2002 -- Web services are becoming an increasingly hot topic as the Internet community warms to the idea of moving application functions to the Web. Once a pipe dream, consumers and companies are now beginning to accept the fact that eventually, most computing will quite likely be conducted over the Internet.
In order to do this, however, service providers will have to be ready to provide highly integrated, scalable applications to be delivered via the Web on a moment's notice. The delivery of these services will require a great deal of scalable automation; as a result, several hosting automation firms are preparing for the onset of Web services as a hosting industry standard.
Paul Zohorsky, President of Web hosting automation firm Alabanza (Alabanza.com), says the key to the future of Web hosting automation will be providing applications on demand, and "you have to have a system that allows you to do that," he says. "I think you need to have an open system that allows lots of things to be plugged in so you can quickly add new products and services without a lot of tailoring or modifications or anything like that - it's got to plug in quickly."
The company is therefore working on developing a "True Presence" philosophy that provides "more applications [and] more services over the Internet," he says.
Zohorsky expects one of the first things reseller clients like SMEs will require from a Web services platform will be tools like collaboration software, omnipresent e-mail, calendaring services and CRM suites. He says that Alabanza, which provides automation solutions to more than 500 clients in a variety of ways, has intrigued several companies by proposing that CRM solutions, which allow higher-end companies to track their customer relationships, be offered to lower end clients like SME resellers in a fully automated format.
A company like Siebel, however, might not interested in selling a paltry two seats to its CRM suite to low-end businesses; however, he says they are interested certainly interested in selling two seats to 10,000 people if an automated Web services platform could be offered to make it happen. "I've talked to software vendors who find it very attractive," he says.
As Alabanza moves to an "applications on demand" model, Zohorsky says the company may consider introducing its new application-based services on a "by the drink" basis, allowing customers to try applications before subscribing to them, likely on a monthly basis. "That's what our software allows," he says. "You get people in, and they start saying, 'you know, I should buy it by the month'."
A lot of the hype surrounding Web services can be attributed to software giant Microsoft, whose .NET initiative has piqued the interest of developers worldwide regardless of where their operating system loyalties may lay. One hosting company poised to benefit from this is Boston-based Sphera (Sphera.com), which recently introduced its HostingDirector for Windows, an platform for Windows 2000 it co-developed from the ground up with Microsoft.
"We take the approach of supporting Microsoft-native technology, which gives us the ability to integrate any future technology, like Microsoft .NET Web servers and all the .NET technologies," says Asher Shiratzky, Sphera's CTO. The notion of Web services was a hot topic between the two companies when they developed the platform, as they realized it could likely have a great impact on service providers using both Sphera and Microsoft technologies in the long run. "We talked about all the future technology, because one of our main goals is to have a future-proof technology as opposed to something that is cross-platform, but does not support all the applications requested by the customer," he says.
Shiratzky says interoperability will also be key to Web services, something most vendors have yet to strive for. "We're seeing some Web hosters that are hosting Web services right now on different platforms, and they are looking for native Web automation tools for each operating system which will give them the ability to support Web services," he says. "Each one of the vendors provide today [its] own framework… Web services by definition are interoperable, but the different frameworks are not interoperable right now."
Ensim (Ensim.com), another popular hosting automation firm, is also placing a great deal of emphasis on .NET with its latest Windows product. The company says its WEBppliance 3.0 for Windows automation product, unveiled last week, lays the groundwork for future functionality for .NET services. Ensim expects .NET to drive more Windows-based deployments among Web hosting firms and help to challenge the market share of Linux over the next few years.
Whether Web services is more substance than hype at this point, however, should not concern Web hosting firms; ultimately, Sphera's Shiratzky says, it is Web hosting resellers and customers who will determine the importance of Web services to the hosting industry. "It's not that the Web hosting provider can define [its] own strategy," he says. "At the end of the day, [it] is getting money for hosting [client] applications."


Adam Eisner is a Managing Editor at The Web Host Industry Review, a leading Web hosting resource that provides industry news, research and consumer resources.