Despite the promise of Web services, according to a recent survey by TechMetrix, the vast majority of enterprises are still struggling in the early phases of their Web services projects. The challenge is due to the explosion of special-purpose languages and standards that Web services and XML have spawned. This Tower of Babel has dramatically slowed the adoption of Web services. The major platform vendors have attempted to simplify Web services development by providing wizards and code generators, but this approach has only worsened matters by limiting flexibility and making systems even more difficult to understand and maintain. As a result, these applications have entailed costly training, maintenance and support. Furthermore, the complexity has limited application reliability, flexibility, and security. XML is touted as the lingua franca or common language for business. Indeed, XML takes a first step in this direction, but in its current state it remains a verbose syntax for purely static data. Businesses enticed by the promise of XML and Web services have been left unfulfilled by the existing solutions.

The Clear Methods Steam XML platform uses the Water language and ConciseXML syntax to transform XML into a powerful business language that simplifies the entire software lifecycle from requirements gathering through deployment. Water is more than a programming language—it is a business language for for use in all aspects of software including design, content, presentation, testing, and documentation. As a universal language for Web services, Water reduces or eliminates the translation errors that typically occur between software stages. Water has been designed from the ground-up for building business applications using XML and Web services. The Clear Methods Steam XML platform delivers the benefits of the Water language to business.

Water dramatically reduces the cost of training and maintenance by adhering to the “Learn Once, Use Everywhere” philosophy. Water fully leverages all existing investments in HTML, XML, application servers, databases, and object-oriented development. Projects that may have required outsourced development can now be completed in-house with existing staff. Water can be introduced anywhere within your existing architecture and will add immediate value. Over time, Water provides a smooth, incremental path to automate your business with XML and Web services.

If you are looking to automate your business to reduce costs and increase flexibility, let Clear Methods deliver on the promise of XML and Web services.