WS-I Hosts Interoperability Demonstration at Burton Group’s Catalyst Conference 2007

WS-I President to Speak at San Francisco Conference on WS-I SOA Initiatives

WAKEFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Web Services Interoperability Organization (WS-I: www.ws-i.org) will be hosting an interoperability demonstration at Burton Group’s Catalyst Conference (http://www.catalyst.burtongroup.com) on the evening of June 28, 2007 at the Hilton San Francisco. WS-I and member organizations IBM, Microsoft, Novell, SAP and Sun Microsystems will showcase the value of secure Web services, supported by the recently announced WS-I Basic Security Profile 1.0, from 6:00 - 9:30 p.m. in room Plaza B. Conference attendees will view live demos of interoperable, secure Web services and have the opportunity to speak with representatives from WS-I and member organizations. Conference attendees visiting the interoperability demo will have a chance to win an Xbox 360 Elite.

“Interoperability of Web services across heterogeneous environments is a critical success factor for companies that are developing and deploying Web services as part of their SOA initiative”

WS-I President and Chairman of the Board Michael Bechauf, also vice president of industry standards at SAP AG, will be featured at the Catalyst Conference on June 28. Mr. Bechauf’s session, “WS-I SOA Initiatives,” will begin at 9:10 a.m. in Grand Ballroom A at the Hilton San Francisco.

WS-I publishes Profiles that contain Best Practices for implementing selected groups of Web services standards. In his session, Mr. Bechauf will discuss how WS-I deliverables not only support SOA, but also how are they are applicable to industry organizations as they implement Web services. Mr. Bechauf will explore Best Practices for Web services standards, and how WS-I is addressing the need for secure Web services. He will also discuss work that is in process for Reliable Asynchronous Web services, and how WS-I identifies requirements and recommends future Profiles to address evolving interoperability challenges.

“Interoperability of Web services across heterogeneous environments is a critical success factor for companies that are developing and deploying Web services as part of their SOA initiative,” said Bechauf. “WS-I’s interoperability event at the Catalyst Conference is a great opportunity for conference attendees to experience secure interoperable Web services – an essential element for enabling the exploitation of Web services capabilities and reaping their benefits.”

In addition to his leadership role at WS-I, as Vice President of Industry Standards for SAP, Mr. Bechauf is responsible for participation in industry standards activities and for the strategy to integrate technology standards into SAP’s product portfolio. Mr. Bechauf also serves as a member of the Java Community Process Executive Committee and the Eclipse Foundation Board of Directors.

“The WS-I profiles guide developers through the myriad of available options and help them implement a given standard in an interoperable manner,” said Anne Thomas Manes, vice president and research director, Burton Group. “We look forward to hearing Michael’s perspective on Best Practices for secure Web services. We also anticipate seeing five key WS-I members – IBM, Microsoft, Novell, SAP and Sun – showcase BSP 1.0 interoperability in action for the first time at the demonstration Thursday evening.”

During the interoperability demonstration, representatives from the five member companies will guide attendees through the ways in which WS-I Basic Secure Profile 1.0 (BSP1.0) achieves interoperability for WS-Security 1.0 and the supporting WS-Security Token profiles. The demo will also show how BSP1.0 composes with the WS-I Basic Profile 1.1 (SOAP, WSDL, UDDI) when developing and deploying secure Web services.

Attendees of WS-I’s interoperability event will also have the opportunity to win an Xbox 360 Elite. For more information on Catalyst Conference activities, see http://catalyst.burtongroup.com/NA07/general_elements.htm#break.

Anne Thomas Manes and Mr. Bechauf discuss interoperability issues, the new BSP 1.0, and give a preview of what attendees can expect from the Catalyst Conference demonstration in a podcast available at Burton Group Inflection Point, a complimentary resource that includes podcasts, blogs, and research http://inflectionpoint.burtongroup.com.

Attendees of the WS-I’s interoperability demonstration must be registered at the Catalyst Conference. To register, go to www.catalyst.burtongroup.com. Members of the press who are interested in attending WS-I’s interoperability demonstration but are not yet registered for the Catalyst Conference may contact Ruth Cassidy ([e-mail]) of Virtual, Inc.

About WS-I

WS-I is an open, industry organization chartered to promote Web services interoperability across platforms, operating systems, and programming languages. The organization unites a diverse community of Web services companies to provide guidance, recommended practices and supporting resources for developing interoperable Web services. For more information, visit www.ws-i.org or email [e-mail].