WS-I Announces ''Architecting for Interoperability'' Event for Web Services Architects; Citigroup, Ford Motor Company and Gartner to Present; Early-Bird Registration Now Open for October 16th Event.

WAKEFIELD, Mass. -- The Web Services Interoperability Organization (WS-I), a global industry organization that promotes consistent and reliable Web services interoperability across platforms, operating systems and programming languages, today announced that it will sponsor a one-day event called "Architecting for Interoperability" on October 16, 2006. This is the industry's only event exclusively dedicated to Web services standards and interoperability, and it is the inaugural event in the WS-I Summit Series educational program. The practical program was designed by Web services architects for Web services architects and will feature a keynote presentation by Daniel Sholler, research director and vice president at Gartner. The event will take place on Monday, October 16, 2006 at the Santa Clara Marriott Hotel in Santa Clara, Calif. More information can be found at http://www.ws-i.org/summit.

Keynote Presentation by Gartner

Daniel Sholler, vice president and research director at Gartner and lead analyst for Gartner's Application Integration and Middleware service, will deliver a keynote presentation entitled, "The Pragmatic Realities of Implementing Interoperable Web Services." In this presentation, Mr. Sholler will share feedback collected from years of customer consulting engagements about the challenges and complexities associated with Web services and realizing true interoperability. He will also discuss best practices for architecting successful Web services infrastructures. Mr. Sholler's keynote presentation will set the stage for the entire day's program.

Learn Field-Proven Strategies for Ensuring Interoperability

Architecting for Interoperability will feature Web services experts from Citigroup, Ford Motor Company, Forum Systems, F5 Networks, Gartner, HR-XML Consortium, IBM, Layer 7 Technologies and SAP AG. Sessions will focus on real-world examples and field-proven strategies for architecting and deploying interoperable and secure Web services using today's Web services standards and specifications, including the WS-I interoperability profiles.

"We are pleased to be presenting Architecting for Interoperability," said Michael Bechauf, chairman of WS-I. "Attendees will learn field-proven strategies that will reduce the risks associated with designing and deploying interoperable Web services and help companies ensure the success of their own Web services initiatives."

Early-Bird Registration Now Open

Architecting for Interoperability will take place on Monday, October 16 at the Santa Clara Marriott Hotel in Santa Clara, Calif. and registration is now open. Attendees who register before September 1 can take advantage of the early-bird registration fee of only $149, a $50 savings over the general registration fee of $199. To register for this event, visit http://www.ws-i.org/summit/register.

About WS-I

WS-I is an open industry organization that promotes consistent and reliable interoperability among Web services across platforms, operating systems and programming languages. The organization unites a diverse community of Web services companies to provide guidance, recommended practices and supporting resources for developing interoperable Web services. For more information, please visit www.ws-i.org, or e-mail [e-mail].