http://www.soamag.com The SOA Magazine is a monthly online publication provided by SOA Systems Inc. and Prentice Hall/PearsonPTR and is officially associated with the "Prentice Hall Service-Oriented Computing Series from Thomas Erl." SOA en-us Copyright 2006-2007, SOA Systems Inc. http://www.soamag.com/I3/0107-2.asp Exposing web services to the outside world is much more complex than creating and maintaining services geared towards internal consumption. While internally focused projects have their technical challenges, outwardly focused web services initiatives bring to the fore a whole host of non-IT related issues such as business strategy and marketing. Those who proceed with such projects with the same mindset that made their internal projects successful run a significant risk of failing. Web services initiatives aimed at serving the needs of non-captive customers and partners are akin in effort to that of creating a new business channel and not merely a systems integration project. In order be successful in these efforts, you must clearly understand your organization's objectives, your customer's needs and the Web Services Distribution Ecosystem. (First published in The SOA Magazine Issue III, January 2007.) SOA http://www.soamag.com/contributors/bio-jlabbe.asp#When:03.01.07