STRATEGIES

May 24, 2002

One of the main selling points for Web services has been the ability to connect up applications more easily than with earlier forms of EAI (enterprise application integration). But concern about the security and reliability of the Web itself has made many companies wary of using Web services for connecting sensitive data or mission-critical applications.

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"Grand Central is not the only provider in the field, an indication that demand for this type of solution is expected to rise. It competes with Flamenco Networks, which has more of a peer-to-peer architecture, and Slam Dunk Networks, whose network in fact predates the emergence of Web services standards." Give us your feedback in the ASPnews Discussion Forum

Those concerns are preventing companies from realizing one of the primary advantages of Web services, namely the ability to achieve integration between separate businesses. To help eliminate this obstacle, a new class of vendor has emerged to provide a more robust infrastructure that operates within the Web environment — the Web services network.

"If you're going to use Web services for B2B, you're going to need a service like Grand Central," Craig Donato, CEO of one of the leading Web services network vendors, told ASPnews.

Bringing the Web Up to Spec
San Francisco-based Grand Central Communications operates a managed network that guarantees the security and reliability of Web services transactions passing through it, as well as providing centralized monitoring, reporting and workflow capabilities.

Adding these qualities brings the Web up to the levels of predictability and integrity that enterprise-class applications demand. Participants connect to the network in the same way that they would connect to any secure Web site, using either the Sinple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) Web services standard or more generic Web protocols such as FTP, SMTP and HTTP.

Like many Web services startups, Grand Central is difficult to classify using existing service provider definitions. It's not exactly an ASP, because what it offers is hosted infrastructure rather than a specific business application. But it's not exactly an MSP either, because what it offers is application infrastructure, not systems infrastructure. The correct term ought to be application infrastructure provider (AIP), except that Grand Central's variety of AIP operates across a thin sliver of application networking, which is a very different role from the many data center operators that currently position themselves as AIPs.

But however you choose to define it, Grand Central's service is beginning to attract customers. Last month, financial information publisher Thomson Financial announced it will use the Grand Central network to give clients real-time access to its financial data services using Web services (see Web Services You Can Bank On. Other customers include Wachovia Securities and Eastman Chemicals.

Despite its position at the leading edge of Web services, Grand Central has found that providing gateways for more archaic methods of inter-enterprise data exchange, such as FTP, has been an important factor in winning business. After security, the wide variety of systems in use at partner companies is one of the main barriers that enterprises have to overcome when extending business processes beyond their own network.

"Once you expose a Web service outside the firewall, you're immediately confronted with a long list of requirements — and they all have to be dealt with in a loosely coupled way," said Donato. With Grand Central acting as a neutral infrastructure, he explained, "everybody can do it in their own way and we mediate in the middle."

Surprisingly, the speed and cost advantages of Grand Central's solution mean that several of its first implementations have been for the delivery of sensitive documents rather than applications. "This is a solution that enables people to wire up relationships they've never considered wiring up before," said Donato. "One of the key interactions that hasn't been wired is the exchange of documents."

The next most common requirement after content exchange is what Grand Central calls service syndication — enabling an enterprise to deliver a Web-based service to its partners or customers. This is how Eastman Chemical is using the Grand Central service, enabling it to publish its configuration applications as real-time Web services to distributors in its demand chain, who then incorporate the applications in their own Web sites. "You're exposing your application logic and allowing it to be consumed in your partner's portal," explained Donato.

Another emerging requirement is for organizational federation — where large, often recently merged organizations need to couple up separate enterprise application stacks installed in each of their operating divisions or subsidiaries. "Integrating with your other divisions looks more like B2B than EAI," said Donato, and no individual division wants to be landed with the bill for building the infrastructure, so it makes a lot of sense for such organizations to turn to a third party like Grand Central.

Across the board, an important part of the appeal is Grand Central's subscription-based service model, giving customers access to a state-of-the-art Web services network without having to make a massive upfront investment. "Our secret sauce is that we are a Web service delivered over the network," said Donato. "We allow people to achieve ROI incrementally. That really is a paradigm shift for a lot of folks."

They're Not Alone
The company is not the only provider in the field, an indication that demand for this type of solution is expected to rise. Grand Central competes with Flamenco Networks, which has more of a peer-to-peer architecture, and Slam Dunk Networks, whose network in fact predates the emergence of Web services standards. Another important name to watch is Blue Titan Software, which sells server software that enables enterprises to deploy a Web services network within their internal network infrastructure.

Grand Central believes its greatest area of opportunity lies outside of the enterprise, helping organizations extend their business systems to link up with others. "We're helping people integrate their systems with those of their partners," said Donato. "Web services can be used to dramatically alter the economics of interacting with your partners — and it can be achieved today with Grand Central."

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