About ZapThink

ZapThink is an IT advisory and analysis firm that provides trusted advice and critical insight into the architectural and organizational changes brought about by the movement to XML, Web Services, and Service Orientation.We provide our three target audiences of IT vendors, service providers and end-users a clear roadmap for standards-based, loosely coupled distributed computing - a vision of IT meeting the needs of the agile business.

ZapThink helps its customers in three ways:

• By helping companies understand IT products and services in the context of Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) and the vision of Service Orientation
• By providing guidance into emerging best practices for Web Services and SOA adoption
• By bringing together all our audiences into a network that provides business value and expertise to each member of the network.

Market Intelligence
ZapThink provides market intelligence to IT vendors and professional services firms that offer XML and Web Services-based products and services in order to help them understand their competitive landscape, plan their product roadmaps, and communicate their value proposition to their customers within the context of Service Orientation.

Advisory, Guidance, and Expertise
ZapThink provides guidance and expertise to professional services firms to help them grow and innovate their services as well as promote their capabilities to end-users and vendors looking to grow their businesses.

Implementation Best Practices
ZapThink also provides implementation intelligence to IT users who are seeking guidance and clarity into the best practices for planning and implementing SOA, including how to assemble the available products and services into a coherent plan.

To learn more about how ZapThink can help your organization, click on the link below that best describes your company:

• IT vendors - either software or hardware
• IT service providers - professional services firms, system integrators, or consultants
• IT end-users - any organization considering, planning, or executing an SOA implementation

Meeting your Critical Needs

ZapThink intelligence addresses the following key issues:

• What are the emerging markets for XML, Web Services, and Service-Oriented products and services?
• How big are the opportunities for companies looking to pursue XML, Web Services, and Service Orientation?
• What is the competitive landscape for different XML, Web Services, and Service-Oriented market segments?
• What different requirements are enterprise customers asking for and spending money on?
• How do vendor product strategies fit into enterprises' Service Orientation plans?
• Where will the market for different applications of distributed computing be in the short-term and long-term future?
• How and when will various XML, Web Services, and SOA standards fall into place?
• What are the challenges and barriers to adoption of Web Services and Service orientation?
• What will the Web Services adoption patterns be for companies of different sizes and in different industries?
• How are existing market leaders capitalizing on XML and Web Services trends, and how will that impact your organization?
• How can you make the most of media and press interest?

Learn more about our analysts.

Service-Orientation: A Turning Point for IT

As the information technology industry enters its second half-century, the coming together of many technical and market forces demonstrates that IT is maturing. Technical forces include the ubiquity of the Internet, the relentless improvements in processor speed, storage, and bandwidth, and the maturation of the field of software engineering. Among the market forces signifying the maturity of IT are the post-bubble economic pressures to keep spending down and squeeze value out of existing investments, the move toward offshore software development, and the commoditization of infrastructure platforms and operating systems. The most significant of these forces, however, is the move toward standards-based distributed computing, heralded by XML and Web Services.

The coalescing of these forces signify a turning point in the evolution of IT: finally, the possibility that business will drive IT, rather than the other way around, is on the horizon. Instead of a bottleneck on business that adds cost and risk, IT is about to turn a corner, where IT becomes a set of resources that line-of-business can call upon as needed to meet the strategic and tactical needs of the business.

The problem with turning corners, however, is that it's very difficult to see around them. As a result, today's IT environment is teeming with fear, uncertainty, and doubt, as businesspeople and technologists alike see the forces of IT change, but lack a unifying concept that can show the way around the corner. That concept is Service Orientation.

Service Orientation is an approach to information technology that considers IT resources as being available and discoverable as location-independent Services on the network. Service Orientation furnishes a layer of abstraction that masks the complexity of the technical implementations that underlie such Services, so that the line-of-business has access to IT functionality when and where it's needed, regardless of how that functionality is provided -- in a flexible, dynamic, cost-effective manner.

What Makes Us Unique

Focus on open, standards-based, loosely-coupled systems and technologies that represent an evolutionary advancement in computing that requires a new way of thinking about computing resources, capabilities, and programming methodology and architecture.

Value - ZapThink produces the very best quality analysis and research due to the productivity and expertise of analysts.

Credibility - ZapThink analysts have the experience, knowledge, and open-mindedness required to be a credible, objective, and reliable source of analysis and perspective.

Thought-Leadership - ZapThink is constantly focused on pioneering, cutting-edge, emerging technologies that promise to impact our clients' bottom lines.

Our History and Background

ZapThink's senior analysts are widely regarded as the "go to analysts" for XML, Web Services, and SOAs by vendors, end-users, and the press. They are in great demand as speakers, and have presented at conferences and industry events around the world. They are among the most quoted industry analysts in the IT industry.

ZapThink was founded in October 2000 and is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Its customers include Global 1000 firms, public sector organizations around the world, and many emerging businesses. ZapThink Analysts have years of experience in IT as well as research and analysis. Its analysts have previously been with such firms as IDC and ChannelWave, and have sat on the working group committees for standards bodies such as RosettaNet, UDDI, CPExchange, ebXML, EIDX, and CompTIA.

We provide Industry Leading Thought for Industry Leading Organizations.

Partial Customer List

Above All	Federal Desposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)	Novell
Accenture	Federal Reserve Bank	NXP Semiconductors
Access Information Services Co.	Fidelity Information Services	OASIS
Acclaim IT	Fidelity Investments	Oblix
Accordare	FileMaker	Océ-Technologies B.V.
ACORD	Fiorano Software	OILSpace
Actional	First National Bank	Online Business Systems
Active Endpoints	First Tech Credit Union	Open Applications Group (OAG)
Adea Solutions	First Tennessee National	Open Group
Adobe Systems	Fiserv	Oracle
AEGON	Flashline	Palm, Inc.
Aeroplan Limited	Food And Drug Administration (FDA)	Parasoft
AgilePath Corporation	Forum Systems	Patni
Agilience	FreddieMac	Pearson Education
AIG	Friends Provident	Pepco Holdings Inc. (PHI)
Alcatel Lucent	Fronde	Pepsico
alfabet	FT Interactive Data	Pervasive Software
Amazon.com	Fuego	Phoenix Life
AMBA	Fujitsu Consulting	Pictet & Cie
Amberpoint	FusionWare	Polar Lake
AMD	GemStone Systems	Polaris Venture Partners
AMP	Generali Assurances Generales (GAG)	PricewaterhouseCoopers
ANSI	Geniant	Prima Solutions
ANZ Bank	GlaxoSmithKline	Principal Financial Group
Application Development Trends	Globalsoft	Progress Software
APPTIS	Goverment of Alberta	Propylon
ArborText	Grand Central	Prudential Financial
Ark Group	Groupe Mutuel	Queensland Transport
Ascential Software	GT Software	Quovadx
ASIC	HandySoft	Raining Data
Astoria Capital Management	Harleysville Group	Ramco Systems Co.
AT&T	Harris Corporation	RatchetSoft
Atlas Venture	Haute école de gestion Arc	Rational Software
Atos Origin	HBK Investments	RBC Financial Group
AttachmateWRQ	Hewlett Packard (HP)	Reactivity
AuriQ	Hitachi	RealNetworks
Avanade	HostBridge	Remedy
Avao	Hyfinity	Reuters
Avinon	HyperVision	Robbins-Gioia
Backbase	IBM	Rogue Wave Software
Backchannelmedia	ICESoft	RSA Security
Backstream	IDG UK	Safeco
BAE SYSTEMS	IDS Scheer	SAIC
Bank for International Settlements	IFDS	Salesforce.com
Bank of America	IIR GmbH	Samsung
BankAtlantic	IMS Health	SAP AG
BAP Global Solutions Ltd	Industy Technology Research Institute	Sarvega
BASF	Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore	Satyam
BCN	InfoPower	Schwab
BEA Systems	informatica	SCO
Beacon Group	Infosys	Scotiabank
BearingPoint	InfoWorld Media Group	Scripps Networks
Belastingdienst	Infravio	SEAGULL Software
Bell Canada	ING	Securent
Berger-Levrault	Inktomi	SeeBeyond
Bessemer Venture Partners	INRIA-Transfert	SEEC, Inc.
BIT Systems, Inc	Institute for Information Industry	Seed Capital Partners
Bloomberg News	Insurance Corporation of B.C.	SeeWhy Software
Blue Titan Software	Intalio	Serena Software
BlueNote Networks	Integrated Wealth Services, LLC	Serono International SA
BMC Software	Intel	Service Integrity
BNSF	Intersperse	Sevin Rosen Funds
Boeing	InterTrust Technologies	Shlumberger
Boomi	Intervista	Simeka BSG
Booz-Allen Hamilton	Interwoven	Sircon
Borland	IONA	Skyway Software
Boston Coach	IPT	SOA Software
Brainstorm Group	IRM UK	Software AG
British Petroleum (BP) Plc	Ironside Ventures	Sogeti USA LLC
British Telecommunications (BT) plc	Isomorphic	Solace Systems
Brunswick WDI New Technologies	Itecor SA	SolNet Solutions
CA (Computer Associates)	iTKO	Sonic Software
CAC america	ITWorx	Sonoa Systems
California Health & Human Services Data C	iWay	SourceMedia
Cambridge Technology Partners	IXIAsoft	South Australia Police
Canadian Blood Services	Jabber	South Central Technical College
Cap Gemini Ernst & Young	Jacada	Southern California Edison
Cape Clear	JackBe	SQLi
Capital Group	Jacobs Rimell	SRA International
Capital International	JAFCO Ventures	SRL Tech Ltd
Cassatt	Johns Hopkins University APL	Standard Bank
CCL/ITRI	JPMorganChase	StrikeIron
Celent	JustSystems	Sumisho Computer Systems
Certeon	K4M	Sun Microsystems
CGI Federal	Kaltire	Swingtide
CGI-AMS	Kanbay	SwissRe
Charles River Ventures	Kapow	Sybase
Charles Schwab	Kelly Services	Symantec
Chevron	Kenai Systems	SYSCO Corp
Choreology	Key Venture Partners	Systinet
CIBC	KnowNow	Tarantell
CIGNA	Kodiak Venture Partners	Tarari
CIPS / ICE	Koyo Shoji Company, Ltd	TD Bank Financial Group
Cisco	KPMG	Tech Mahindra
City Practitioners	Laszlo Systems	Telus
Clear Methods	Layer 7 Technologies	TenFold
CNA Insurance	Legendary Systems	Teros
Cognos, Inc.	Lehman Brothers	Texas Health & Human Services Commission
Coherity	Levi, Ray, and Shoup, Inc.	Texas Instruments
Comactivity	LexisNexis	Thales Suisse SA
Commerce One	Lloyds TSB IPB	The Aeon Group, LLC
CompTIA	Lockheed Martin	The Hartford
Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC)	LogicLibrary	The Marlo Group
Con Edison of New York	M.A.Partners	The Merritt Group
Confex Norge AB	Macromedia	The National Library of Australia
Confluent Systems	Magyar Telecom	The University of Melbourne
Conformative Systems	ManagedMethods	The Vanguard Group
ContentGuard	Mantech IST	ThoughtWorks
Contivo	MapInfo Corp	TIBCO
Cordys	Markel Insurance	Tidal Software
Corel	Marriott International	Tier1 Innovation
Corizon	Mass Mutual Financial Group	Tietoenator
Corticon	Max Planck Digital Library	Tigerstripe Software
Curl	MBNA America	TimesTen, Inc.
Cyclone Commerce	Mercator Software, Inc.	TimeVision
Cysive	Mercury	Toro Company
DataDirect	Meridea Financial Software	Torry Harris
DataMirror	Metallect	Total SAS
Datapower	MetaMatrix	TrueBaseline
Datasynapse	MetLife	T-Systems
DataWatch	Microsoft	TVA Bellefonte Nuclear Plant
DB Capital Venture Partners	Mindreef	U.S. Department of Energy
DCI	Miracle Software Systems	UK Home Office
DCMA	Misys	UL Systems, Inc.
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP	MIT Lincoln Laboratory	US Army
Defense Science and Technology Agency (DSTA)	MITRE	US Forces Command
Deloitte Consulting	MITRE	US Postal Service Headquarters
Delta Corporate Services	Model N	US Treasury
Deltek Systems, Inc.	Modis	Verizon Business
Department of Veterans Affairs	Modus Operandi	Vitria
Depository Trust Clearing Corp (DTCC)	Motorola	Vodafone
Dexia Private Bank	MphasiS Corporation	Vordel
DIMA	MTS Allstream	Warburg Pincus
Discovery Health	MW2 Consulting	WatchGuard Technologies
Document Sciences	NASA	Waypoint Ventures
Documentum	Nastel	Web Age Solutions
DreamFactory	National Australia Bank (NAB) Group	Webalo
Duet Networks	National Center for State Courts (NCSC)	Webify
Dun and Bradstreet	National Information Society Agency	WebLayers
eBillingHUb	National University of Singapore	webMethods
eBridge	Naval Postgraduate School	Wells Fargo
Edgar Online	nCipher	WestGlobal
edocs, Inc.	NedBank	Wipro
EDS	NeoCore	WM-Data
EFConsulting	Netegrity	WorldCom
Egg	NetIQ	WRQ
EMC	NetManage	WS-I.org
Empirix	Nexaweb	WSO2
Enigmatec Corporation	Nielsen Media Research	Xambala
Entrust Technologies	Nike	XAware
Epigraph, Inc	Nissan Americas	Xenos
Ericsson	NOAA/NESDIS/OSD	Xerox
Ernst & Young LLP	Nokia Siemens Networks	Xilinx
Excel Partner	Nortel	Xlipstream
Excelon	Northeastern University	Xyleme
F5 Networks	Northrop Grumman	Zew Hannover
FAA		Zuascene

Testimonials

Don't just take our word... listen to our clients and other fans!

"ZapThink adds strategic value to my team on a daily basis. As we help our market pioneer enterprise-capable SOA, ZapThink's analysis consistently sharpens our understanding and selling skills." — Mark Rogers, VP Partnerships, IONA Technologies

"ZapThink's work is innovative, and their conclusions spot-on. The analysts at ZapThink are not only leading the market with their research and insight, but they are also making an impact on the market as a whole." — David Linthicum, visionary, thought-leader

"ZapThink is one of the most authoritative sources of XML and Web Services research, analysis, and insight since they were first founded. ZapThink has provided the industry the information it needs to make informed decisions about how to best use the emerging technologies for content, computing, and data exchange. We are thrilled to be working with ZapThink to offer this service to our membership." — David Steinhardt, President, IDEAlliance

"ZapThink delivers the best research of any analysts covering web services." — Doug Kaye, Author of Loosely Coupled and the IT Strategy Letter

"You have definitely shown a higher level of understanding of our competitive market than any of the analysts with whom we've spoken. Thanks and keep up the good work" — Eric Lemond, NeoCore.

"Your enthusiasm and expertise were ingredients in this being the best opening session, and best overall conference, we have had." — Steve Ruddock, FileMaker

"ZapThink does not have the millions or layers that other mediums have. ZapThink is niche and focused, and ZapThink is extremely respective and accessible!" — Dedra Jones, Software AG

"Zapthink provides a useful and pragmatic view of "Web services" that goes beyond the hype and excitement—they help explain how to put document driven, loosely coupled systems to work." — Dave Hollander, CTO, Contivo

"In our experience, ZapThink has all the bases covered. Nobody understands the technology side of Web services and SOA better than Ron and Jason. We've also benefited from their insights into ways that IT organizations are considering and using these technologies. Finally, they were a great source of strategic counsel when we were evolving our own SOA strategy." — Sarah Reed, Analyst Relations Manager, IONA

"As always, it's great to have experts and great presenters like you on the program." — Pete Harris, Lighthouse Partners

"The comprehensive reports created by the ZapThink research team are the definitive guide to the XML industry. We frequently interact with our customers in this vibrant and growing industry; ZapThink is there keeping pace."  — Mark Hale, Director of Content Technologies, Interwoven.

"Irreverent and candid analysis, often directly contradicting or challenging analysis from the major commercial analysis firms. ZapThink is a specialist in Web Services and XML. This site tracks the infrastructure that is the foundation of all advanced learning technology. Low tolerance for hype. High regard for hard facts." — a spontaneous testimonial at http://www.samadico.com/pages/774052/page774052.html?refresh=1097788869642