SANTA CRUZ, CA, August 7, 2007 – The number of companies planning or executing SOA deployments on a Java platform increased slightly during the last six months while those planning to build SOA implementations on .NET decreased by almost 20% according to a new Evans Data survey of developers and IT managers actively working on Web Services. .NET deployments for SOA were still ahead with 31% targeting that platform, but with 28% now expecting to target Java technologies; the rival platforms are virtually tied. Almost one in five companies are expecting to support both.

"There's currently a lot of activity in the Open Source world, and particularly in the Eclipse communities, around SOA" said John Andrews, CEO of Evans Data Corp. "Most of the major players in that space are introducing new solutions aimed at SOA, and they are almost invariably Java-based. Open Source SOA looks poised to become a real force in the industry and consequently a serious contender to .NET"

SOA is finally coming into its own, with three-quarters of all companies that have built or are building Web Services now planning to implement SOA. More than one in five have already adopted a formal SOA for company-wide adoption.

Other findings from this survey of almost 400 developers working with Web Services include:

• Over 70% of those writing Web Services have experienced a cost saving. Code re-use and automation of processes were the primary reasons
• Testing and validating Web Services is the greatest challenge for developing an SOA, but determining an ROI is almost as great a challenge
• Business to business implementations are the most common uses for Web Services, followed by data integration

The semi-annual Web Services Development Survey was conducted in June and will ship to subscribers on Monday.

Evans Data Corporation provides regularly updated IT industry market intelligence based on in-depth surveys of the global developer population. Evans' syndicated research includes surveys focused on developers in a wide variety of subjects.

Copyright 2007 Evans Data Corporation. All other company names, products and services mentioned in this document are the trademarks and property of their respective owners.

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