James Kobielus

Enterprise service bus is the most promising new middleware approach. ESB generally refers to integration software that supports simple, expedited, loosely coupled, standards-based, service-oriented...

Client virtualization is an underlying theme in many recent industry announcements. In virtualization, the external interface of every service becomes unmoored from its implementation in particular physical platforms, operating systems, application frameworks and software components.

Identity theft is fast becoming the new bete noire of the cyberworld, crowding out spyware, spam and viruses for that dubious honour. During the past several months, the media have splashed increasingly frightening cover stories, consumer alerts and other breaking news about people who

Every few years Microsoft issues another grand, unified plan for identity management. Well, they

Has anybody noticed that the application platform market is melting down? Service-oriented architecture principles are dissolving the underpinnings of yesterday

Microsoft Corp.'s recent overtures to SAP AG should come as no surprise to anyone who's followed either vendor. Each company covets the other's market. Microsoft is evolving into a more complete vendor of ERP and other business applications. SAP has become a full-fledged Web application and integration platform vendor, in addition to strengthening its core ERP, CRM and supply-chain management application suites.

In dynamic e-business environments, companies want to respond rapidly and effectively to events rather than be overtaken by them. Forward-looking companies design their distributed...

The most interesting story from Microsoft Corp.'s recent Professional Developers Conference wasn't the vendor's future Longhorn operating system, but rather, Microsoft's shift away from two preoccupations of its recent past: .Net and Web services.