Virtualization Virtual Servers and Virtual Storage

Virtualization Virtual Servers and Virtual Storage Virtualization is one of the major software trends of 2007. This type of software allows multiple OSs (operating systems) to run side by side from a single server. Servers are computer systems that provide services to other systems or clients. All major vendors are emphasizing virtualization, including IBM, Intel, Microsoft and, especially, VMWare. Introduction Virtualization supports virtual operating systems, servers, storage, and network functions. It works in conjunction with autonomic computing, in which an organization’s IT manages itself according to perceived activity and utility.… Read More

Trends in Data Quality and Management

Trends in Data Quality and Management One of the biggest technological trends for 2007 is database management, specifically insuring data quality. Databases are a collection of pieces of information organized according to a schema. Schemas describe the information pieces in the database and the relationship between them. Database models include relational, hierarchical, and network models to organize relationships between data. This structure allows for programs to access databases and efficiently use information to perform functions, answer queries and otherwise process data. The software that performs this procedure is called the… Read More

Software as a Service (SAAS)

Software as a Service (SAAS) Software as a service (SAAS) is at the forefront of technological trends in 2007. It refers to a mode of software delivery where maintenance, daily operation and software support is provided by the software company through Internet delivery of applications. Introduction SAAS delivery is defined by some fundamental characteristics. SAAS software must be able to access and manage commercial applications through a network-based connection. Software activity is managed at a central, remote location and allows customers access to applications through the Web. Application delivery is… Read More

Java Technology Trends

Technology Trends Involving Java Java is an object-oriented programming language (OOP) for Web browsers. It is organized around data rather than actions and supports polymorphism (which allows the same code to be written generically so it can function with different datatypes), inheritance (which allows one class to behave like another class, or category of objects, and to expand it operations to perform specific functions), and encapsulation (or the process of combining objects to create new entities). Introduction In OOP, the ‘object’, which includes both data and procedures, is an encapsulated… Read More

Advancements in Web Service Applications

Advancements in Web Service Applications Web services, also known as application services, describe the standardized integration of Web-based applications enabling communication between businesses and their clients. This communication is encoded and disseminated using certain core specifications. Introduction XMLs (Extensible Markup Languages) format the service request, usually in HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), creating intelligible documents for the World Wide Web. SOAPs (Standard Object Access Protocol) establish the basic framework for transferring data. WDSLs (Web Services Description Language), which is an XML-formatted description of possible communication endpoints that can exchange messages. WDSL… Read More

The Promise and Foundation of .NET

The Promise and Foundation of .NET .NET provides a framework for web services used by Microsoft’s Windows, which is the standard operating system on the majority of personal and business computers. These web services include pre-existing IT (and specifically web services) protocols and technologies like XML (Extensible Markup Language), SOAP (Simple Object-Access Protocol), WSDL (Web Services Description Language) and the universal business directory UDDI (Universal Description, Discover and Integration). Introduction While .NET allows Microsoft to centralize the programming support for its web services, it is also a Microsoft business strategy… Read More

Moving towards Service Oriented Architecture

Moving towards Service Oriented Architecture From 2006 to 2007 the major trend in information technology (IT) has been the shift from building infrastructure to service-based or Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). These trends emerge from a growing dissatisfaction with dated systems such as CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software, ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software. This article will discuss the current trends that see ERPs giving way to SOAs. Background Until recently, IT systems were dominated by a focus on infrastructure. IT infrastructure refers to the hardware and software that maintains and organizes information… Read More

Advancements in Service Oriented Architecture

Advancements in Service Oriented Architecture Service-oriented architecture (SOA) is an organized collection of services in communication with each other to perform specific functions. In the field of information technology (IT), a service is a discrete, self-contained bundle of information that is connected to other services. Introduction Web services, or technologies used to support connections, establish the connection and communication between services through standardized, data-organizing languages like XML. Communication between services supports an organization’s internal structure and how that structure interacts with external systems, hence the architectural aspect of SOAs. This… Read More