WEBM Webmediabrands (MM)

Education and Training Slated to be Among Key Drivers of More Widespread Adoption FAIRFAX, Va., Oct. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- webMethods Inc. (NASDAQ:WEBM), a leading business integration and optimization software company, today unveiled the results of an extensive study of adoption patterns for service-oriented architecture (SOA) and Web services among the company's Global 2000 customer base. Based on responses from nearly five hundred users, the survey indicated that firms remain bullish on SOA, with accelerating deployment of Web services paving the way to broader SOA adoption. Specifically, over 80% of respondents indicated that they currently deploy Web services within their enterprise, even though the majority of customers consider their SOA strategies still formative. Lack of widely accepted methodologies and related business case analysis tools outpaced concerns regarding technology considerations as key challenges. "Users clearly recognize the benefits of Web services as part of a broader service-oriented architecture strategy. As a matter of fact, most enterprises were further along in their deployment of Web services than previously believed," said Lance Hill, vice president, Product & Solution Marketing, webMethods Inc. "However, a real gap remains in the knowledge assets that enterprises can use to transform their early-stage ambitions into long-term operational realities. Coupled with rapidly maturing technology, this practical need for real-world methodologies, education and the sharing of best practices is poised to emerge as the key enabler for more widespread SOA adoption over the coming year." Along with the significant number of customers already deploying Web services, the survey also revealed the extent to which enterprises now rely on the technology. Within webMethods implementations, more than half of the respondents were already conducting more than 10,000 Web services transactions per month, with 6% handling more than one million Web services transactions per month. Among the top three reasons that users gave as their primary purposes for pursuing an SOA strategy were the following: -- Ability to reuse services in the future: 20.4% -- Lower integration costs: 17.6% -- Faster delivery of projects: 16.2% In regards to project inhibitors, users cited the following constraints as being among their primary concerns: -- General knowledge of SOA within their enterprise: 16.9% -- Quantifying the ROI around SOA: 15.4% -- Governing development standards within their enterprise: 12% The study also found that Web services were being employed on a relatively universal basis throughout the enterprise. While B2B integration and EDI were consistently cited as focus areas, other responses highlighted a broad range of additional processes and operations where enterprises are leveraging Web services. These efforts ranged from traditional pursuits like customer relationship management, procurement, and supply chain management through more narrowly-focused topics, including Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, online banking, and quality assurance around application development. The survey was conducted August 2005 with 480 users responding. Additional reports on defining the business case and making the transition to SOA are available by visiting http://www.webmethods.com/Resources/Whitepapers. About webMethods, Inc. webMethods (NASDAQ:WEBM) provides business integration software to integrate, assemble and optimize available IT assets to drive business process productivity. webMethods delivers an innovative, enterprise-class business integration platform that incorporates proven integration technology with next generation capabilities into one interoperable set of tools that delivers a unique combination of efficiency, agility and control. webMethods combines industry leadership with a zealous commitment to customers to deliver tangible business value to more than 1,300 global customers. webMethods is headquartered in Fairfax, Va., with offices throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia Pacific and Japan. More information about the company can be found at http://www.webmethods.com/. The webMethods name and logo are registered trademarks of webMethods, Inc. All other marks mentioned are trademarks or service marks of their respective companies. DATASOURCE: webMethods Inc. CONTACT: John Conley, webMethods, +1-703-460-5996, Web site: http://www.webmethods.com/

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