Didata Web Services

Craig Miller, CTO for Didata North America, said currently available Web services offerings require significant investment in installation, configuration, integration and skills development. Didata's, however, is an out-of-the-box solution, he said.

"A company can take one of these prepackaged boxes, hook it up, and they're in the Web services business," Miller said. "This approach is low cost and low risk for companies."

Didata's Web services offering consists of a hardware platform and commercial application platform software that includes a directory, Web server, application server and database server. Also included is a Web Services Framework featuring four utility services that can serve as building blocks for internal development projects.

Miller said the platform is available in pieces or a whole package, depending upon a company's size and budget.

The fixed-price offering is available in a Microsoft .Net version. A J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition) on Linux version is due later this year.

Kelly Schmitz, information technology director for Lexington, Mass.-based Cubist Pharmaceuticals, said her company began engaging Didata's Web services offering over the summer to jump-start internal Web services.

Didata's incremental implementation allows Cubist to test the technology within its own IT environment and business structure, which saves money and gives staff time to learn how the technology will best benefit the company, she said.

Ted Schadler, an analyst with Forrester Research, said Dimension Data has boxed up the network services required to make a Web services system work well.

"IBM will tell you they will sell you a configuration, and they do have a bunch of packages," Schadler said. "But none that is quite as specific and entry-level as this one."

Miller said Didata's Web services plans include additional servers with different capabilities, educational courses and managed services offerings.