Different Bullshit, Same Smell

On the Web page "Basics of .NET", Microsoft makes a valiant attempt to explain to the common man what Web Services are. It starts off as follows:

If you ask a developer what Web services are, you'll hear something like, "self-describing software modules, semantically encapsulating discrete functionality, wrapped in and accessible via standard Internet communication protocols like XML and SOAP."

Hee hee. Those dumb developers and their developer jargon. When will they ever learn that the common man can't stomach alphabet soup?
Just for the record, I have been in IT for many years, and I have never heard any developer talk like this.
The text continues:
But if you ask a business leader who has implemented Web service-based solutions, you'll get a different kind of answer. You'll hear that Web services are an approach that helps the business connect with its customers, partners, and employees. They enable the business to extend existing services to new customers. They help the business work more efficiently with its partners and suppliers. They unlock information so it can flow to every employee who needs it. They reduce development time and expense for new projects. You'll hear less about what Web services are and more about what they enable the business to do.

See, that's telling 'em! Thank God for the guys at marketing to clear things up for us. Oooh, I can connect with my customers, partners and employees! Gee whiz, the business will work more efficiently! And holy crap, Web services even... unlock information!
In all fairness, there is a concrete example toward the bottom of this page. But the implied suggestion that the second quote was any more informative than the first has no bearing on reality. It merely shows who's calling the shots around here.

Posted by cronopio at 01:07 PM, May 13, 2005