OPEN WIDE

ACRONYM SOUP

As easy as it is to mix and match “open wide” acronyms and phrases, they all have a distinct meaning. Learn them now and the larger puzzle of next-gen service creation begins to fall into place.

WEB SERVICES: A standardized way of building and integrating applications by exchanging XML messages defined by SOAP and WSDL standards, with Web-native HTTP as the transport protocol.

SOA: Service-oriented architecture is a methodology for taking pre-built software components (perhaps built using Web services) and integrating and orchestrating them to create new services.

J2EE: Java 2, Enterprise Edition provides a platform including Web services, component model and communications APIs for building server-side Java applications. Microsoft offers an alternative with its .NET programming environment.

Web 2.0: A set of lightweight but powerful technologies (such as AJAX for user interfaces and REST for server APIs), application features (interactivity, community orientation, user-generated content) and use cases/business models (wikis, social networks, mashups).

SDP: Service delivery platform, or the evolution and expansion of IT application server platforms to enable telco service creation. SDPs include Web and SIP application servers and Web and content/media delivery capabilities. Web services-based APIs open telco services and features to the outside world, while the SDP also provides hooks into carrier OSS/BSS systems and low-level communications interfaces.

PARLAY/PARLAY X: Parlay (1998) is a set of interfaces, built using CORBA and WSDL, to define APIs to carrier networks. Parlay X (2003) is a subsequent release that wrappers Parlay APIs with Web services interfaces, creating a much simpler set of APIs that can be used by a larger set of developers.

LONG TAIL: Coined by Wired magazine editor Chris Anderson, the long tail refers to the availability of niche content or applications beyond a small group of “hits.” Technology drivers for long-tail content include low-cost distribution (mainly via the Internet) and open interfaces and easy data exchange to encourage and simplify the creation of new applications.

MASHUPS: An application that combines data from two or more sources — typically via publicly accessible APIs — to create a new application or service. The term is associated most often with Web-based applications, but APIs into telco call control or other capabilities mean that standard voice capabilities can be integrated into mashups as well.