From a Technology Perspective, Messaging and Web Services are the Key Enablers for Convergence
Global trade requires global communications and increasingly involve e-markets, e-procurement, on-line product development, supply chains/value webs
Trade requires data exchange and information processing capabilities from data storage, to transaction processing, to standard protocols
Legacy and new systems are coded in multiple languages (COBOL still dominant, C++, Java, Ada, etc.), and were modernized by Y2K remediation
So, XML.ORG and World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) have embraced messaging standards (SOAP) and “services” (UDDI) to allow communications between standard platforms and a broad range of legacy apps