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What's in store for 2004.

Article Excerpt
"What does the future hold for IT?" It's a burning question that everyone's asking, but who can answer? At XML-Journal, we went straight to the experts--the world's brightest and most prescient i-technology professionals--and asked them what they expect in the coming year for IT in general and XML in specific.

Industrys stakeholders--software vendors, developers, technology investors, and users alike--are looking forward to the year ahead with renewed vigor. The buzz is around XSL, Web services, and the service-oriented architecture. The benefits of XML are clear ... and in 2004 they'll become even clearer.

Following are some of the predictions we received from industry leaders ... if they are an indication of what's to come, it's going to be a great year.

Thom Robbins

Senior Technology Specialist Microsoft

2004 is going to be the year of the service-oriented architecture We have talked and even debated over the design pattern for the last several years This will be the year that it will finally become the standard design pattern of distributed scalable systems. I believe that we will see XML as the basis for this type of architecture as we design our applications. XML will finally permeate all aspects of server-side interchange using Web services to desktop-based XML The benefits of XML are becoming clear and will become the basic design reality that we operate in when writing applications This is the year that CIOs and other technology influencers will see their data no longer locked into proprietary formats and will use this to exchange data across disparate systems. The technology has finally come to the point where we can integrate these applications easily and dearly demonstrate a lower cost of ownership and quicker return on investment--the missing ingredients needed to finally take the industry into the next generation

Bill Rogers

CEO Ektron

We expect 2004 to be a landmark year for the adoption of XML content made available through Web services. More and more companies will design their Web strategies using this technology--whether it's in real estate, health care, finance, or government. XML and Web services will enhance the search, retrieval, exchange, storage, editing, publishing, management, use, and reuse of information.

In the coming year, Web services will begin to impact business results, and the way IT professionals and business users function in organizations, as the tool sets (.NET) for Web service technology are now mature. We believe the benefits of NET will begin to be seen as IT professionals connect their companies more broadly...