What are Web Services?

Put simply, web services are a standardised method by which two different applications can communicate with each other.

This standardisation means that no complicated programming is involved and no significant (not to mention expensive) customisation of existing systems is required. In fact, the wonderful thing about web services is that for the user of an application, they wouldn't know, or even have to know, about what is going on in the background.

An example of web services in action would be the user of a CRM who when they click on a record, the CRM, via web services, requests the address from a centrally held database. Instantaneously the address is then visible alongside the CRM specific information.

The Benefits of Web Services

Ease of integration - Get into the technical nitty gritty of web services and the whole thing can begin to sound complicated. However, because of the standardisation that comes with web services, most modern applications can slot seamlessly together - round peg, round hole.

Streamlined processes - Web services are all about different applications 'speaking the same language', so the suppliers of those applications are finding it essential to make sure they can offer these streamline processes. The more streamlined all your systems can be, the cheaper it is and the more efficiently your organisation can run.

Save money - Because web services allow multiple systems to talk to each other, you can create a situation in which many systems can call their data from a single source. This results in less infrastructure and associated IT costs since you are not having to duplicate work and the holding of data.

Web Services and Address Management

In the case of address management, web services offer a great opportunity to increase efficiency whilst at the same time saving you money. What web services allow is for you to hold all your address data in one central location, from which all your other systems will be able to call it when required.

This will result in all your people accessing identical data and save considerable sums in removing the need to have multiple copies of the address data strewn around your organisation.

Web Services from Aligned Assets

Web services are available through Symphony SinglePoint, which provides the option to either host your address data locally and this accessed by the whole company via web services, or for the address data to be accessible through web services via Software as a Service.

Whichever option you prefer, you can be assured that it will increase efficiency and save you money.