The .NET effects The ASP is being replaced by the Web service provider. With all of the major software vendors now backing Web services, little doubt remains about the general direction in which the industry is heading in terms of the dominant environment for business applications.
Web services are a very profound advancement for e-business.
Although most of the important vendors have pledged some sort of allegiance to Web services, and all have detailed plans, none has clearly articulated exactly what Web services will be. That may be true because the technology is in a state of infancy, and won't begin to mature for at least another two to three years. More importantly, a Web service may combine several applications that a user needs, such as the various pieces of a supply-chain architecture. For the end-user, however, the entire infrastructure will appear as a single application. Early supporters of Web services say that almost any application imaginable can become a Web service.