The coming year could be make or break for Web services management players. Smaller companies such as Actional, AmberPoint and Blue Titan have focused on offerings in Web services management, providing functions such as monitoring of SOAP messages to boost the use of Web services integration technology. But the big boys are getting involved, too. Computer Associates this week launched its Unicenter Web Services Distributed Management package. Coverage of that prompted a “Me, too,” email from Hewlett-Packard, with a representative expressing disappointment that HP was not noted as a Web services management player in the story on CA.Vendors such as HP and CA can leverage their longstanding management platforms, respectively OpenView and Unicenter, in pursuing business opportunities in Web services management. The neophyte companies have to get by on innovation without a legacy of providing name-brand management systems.So, with major, established vendors joining the Web services management game, it will be interesting to see if the smaller players stand on their own, fade away or are bought out by a larger company. Technology Industry