The promise of Web services, particularly in the short term, is all about connectivity. Base-level protocols that allow disparate applications to communicate is a major win for enterprises as they seek to link internal systems and share data outside their corporate boundaries. But the reality behind the outward-facing standards is a lot of complexity. Enterprises have piles of applications and code that keep their businesses running. And they employ developers with disparate skills and preferences, generally falling into two camps: Microsoft’s .Net environment and Java-based tools and application servers. Our lead news story this week by Tom Sullivan and Ed Scannell explores the debate regarding software interoperability. Will wire-level connectivity and loosely coupled XML interapplication integration suffice, or will the more tightly tied Web services assembly model win out? Ultimately, the modeling and assembling of disparate application parts will take hold, due in part to the skills gap that exists in IT. Web services revives the long-promised notion that application assembly can be completed by less-skilled workers, thereby freeing up business-logic coders. End-users are also in need of some control over customized applications. Microsoft hopes to make that happen by transforming its Office suite into the integration point for Web services and documents (see “Microsoft takes Web services to the Office ” ). Meanwhile, enterprises are hunting for ways to graft third-party services to their internal systems. Our feature story this week, “A second chance for outsourcing” , focuses on the types of network-based services that Web services will likely inspire. How is your company investing in Web services? Write to me at martin_lamonica@infoworld.com. Software Development