Web Services Architecture will support applications that target functions such as inventory, order status, and price quotes. The software will let businesses pass leads, customer product information, and transactions to resellers, distributors, and independent sales agents.

Moss, Bow Street's chairman, says Web Services Architecture will give companies with complex indirect sales channels an agility that rivals direct sales competitors. "The Internet has benefited companies with direct models, but most businesses have complex channels. That creates an E-business bottleneck," he says.

The software holds the promise of simpler connections to partner applications and easier customization of extranet sites, users say. AIG Inc., an insurance and financial-services firm in New York, is evaluating Web Services Architecture to help create customized extranet sites for thousands of independent agents and brokers. "We need a better way of offering services to agents than a single extranet where everything looks the same to everyone," says Ron Fellows, AIG's VP and chief architect for global Internet and electronic commerce.

Because the software is directory based, AIG will be able to make changes to a user or group profile that are automatically reflected on its extranet sites, rather than requiring IT staff to update manually, Fellows says. The software's XML infrastructure will make it simpler to link to partner systems for exchanging information, he adds.