The Burton Group on Web Services

See:
http://www.burtongroup.com/promo/columns/column.asp?articleid=145&employeeid=3

"There really isn’t a big mystery as to why the Web services framework—the standards that define an XML-based distributed computing architecture—have gained a credible foothold so quickly. Competitive pressures, the need to reduce costs, and a variety of other business factors are driving enterprises to integrate business processes and IT. Enterprises are creating both internally and externally facing systems that tie employees, customers, partners, suppliers, contractors, and other constituents into their business processes, for example."