Joho latest issue out
Much to read, as usually. Let's take two quotes from different but somehow related parts.

"To achieve the engineering aim of being capable of being extended without requiring changes to the core infrastructure, the long beards built a system with no built-in checks on the data being carried. Value free? Ask China or the Taliban or orthodox Jews or many Christian communities, all of whom see value in protecting their communities from "assault" by temptations and other bad influences. "For engineering reasons," the long beards in effect are saying "we've built a system that will provide open access to ideas and images you consider corrosive. Ok?" To many communities, the answer is a definite "No, it's not ok.""

"SOAP and UDDI are making it possible to knit together all the cooperating applications on the Web with a minimum of integration work. That's called "distributed computing" — a web of functionality not just of content — and it has the potential to be remarkable."

For all the talk about industry-specific XML schemas, UDDI directories, or B2B marketplaces, I still want to grasp how executives won't perceive these initiatives as ways to self-commoditize their businesses. XML is definitely allowing easier integration within corporations and between existing business partners. But do you want to expose your processes and offerings worldwide? Expect a wait-and-see attitude ("let's see what our competitors do first").

For one, many companies still charge different prices among the geographic markets they sell into. Corporate decision makers that effectively charge as much as they can get away with just don't want the "political" ultimate implications of the "distributed computing" stuff the engineers are pitching, because (at least on the short term) they might be "corrosive" to margins. Deliver more value is not always first on the list to maintain profitability. Instead, maintaining a strong position due to the imperfection of the market (eg. additional taxes European consumers have to pay when buying from US etailers) eases competitive pressure, and which company doesn't love a comfortable status-quo (eg. higher price tags for electronic goods sold in Europe)?