While there has been no shortage of attention paid to the technical benefits of Web services-based architectures, the daunting task of answering the practical questions still remains. For Web service scenarios that span enterprises - and firewalls - these questions are particularly urgent. How do companies ensure that only authorized partners and customers are able to access their Web services? What are the best techniques to secure and manage business process communication over the Internet? What are the real costs associated with implementing and owning Web services solutions?

Using case studies from the company's customer portfolio, Craig Donato, president and CEO of Grand Central, will demonstrate how a web services network can provide the critical piece of infrastructure businesses need to use Web services to solve real world problems.

Key issues covered:

• Web services architecture: Software and Service
• Reducing complexity and cost in Web services projects
• Case studies of web services-based solutions