Toward a service web: integrating the Semantic Web and service orientation

By a variety of metrics, the Semantic Web is doing very well. For example, the 2006 Gartner report included the “Corporate Semantic Web” as one of three key technology themes, and in 2007, Tim Berners-Lee briefed a hearing of the US Congress subcommittee on the topic. The current state of the Semantic Web is said to be comparable with that of the early days of the Web. Until very recently, growth has been linear, but signs of exponential growth are beginning to emerge. Given this promising situation, we should ask ourselves where and how we expect the Semantic Web to continue to grow in the near- to mid-term future. Our view is that the Semantic Web will come to the fore through a comprehensive integration with service orientation. In particular, we envisage that the combination of Semantic Web and SOAs will lead to the creation of a “service Web”—a Web where billions of parties are exposing and consuming billions services seamlessly and transparently and where all types of stakeholders, from large enterprises to SMEs and singleton end users, engage as peers consuming and providing services within a network of equals.