FAIRFAX, Va., Jan. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- webMethods, Inc. , a leading business integration and optimization software company, today announced a new educational webinar series that is designed to provide users with additional insight into the tools, methodologies and strategies that their peers are using to create an enterprise-ready service- oriented architecture (SOA). Beginning Thursday, Feb. 2, the six-part "Get Real With SOA" webinar series will address many of the key topics associated with successfully implementing an SOA, including real-world approaches for measuring ROI, new implementation methodologies and best practices for addressing the operational impact of SOA on the IT organization itself. Joining webMethods during specific programs will be senior analysts from the Aberdeen Group and Nucleus Research.

"For many enterprises, their focus on SOA is no longer limited to technology as they're now striving to answer the question -- how can I ensure the success of my initiative?" said Lance Hill, vice president, solutions marketing, webMethods, Inc. "'The "Get Real With SOA' program is designed to meet these needs. webMethods has long recognized the need to deliver the total solution for SOA -- one that encompasses best-in-class technologies, proven methodologies and real-world experience -- as being fundamental to ensuring our customer's long-term success. As the company that first defined Web services, we're excited by the opportunity to share our acquired knowledge at this critical time in which so many enterprises are confronted with the need to get real with SOA."

Scheduled programs include the following: * The Value of SOA: ROI Methodology and Real World Case Studies (featuring Rebecca Wettemann, vice president, Nucleus Research) -- Successful IT strategies are no longer about hype, but rather, require a credible path for delivering positive ROI. In this program, learn key strategies for measuring the ROI of your SOA projects and hear what Nucleus Research found in regards to customers that have adopted webMethods Fabric(TM) to advance their SOA strategy. -- Thursday, February 2nd @ 12:00 PM EST * Enterprise-Class SOA Management with webMethods Servicenet -- Registry, management and monitoring facilities are all requirements for transforming just a bunch of Web services into an enterprise-ready SOA. Through the use of webMethods Servicenet(TM), enterprises can employ a fully-unified Web services infrastructure platform to address these requirements. The end-result is an enterprise-ready SOA in which service level agreements can be automatically invoked to deliver fault- free service performance. -- Wednesday, February 8th @ 12:00 PM EST * How SOA is Changing IT: An In-Depth Look by Aberdeen Group at their SOA in IT Benchmark Report (featuring William Mougayar, vice president and service director, Information Technology Research, Aberdeen Group) -- Is SOA fundamentally changing the IT delivery model, the IT organization, and its relationship with the business? To answer these critical questions, the Aberdeen Group surveyed 284 companies regarding their SOA strategies with this broad study examining near-term intentions, usage patterns and deployment approaches, experience to date, and end-results. In this webinar, you'll have the chance to review this research first- hand and ask your own questions regarding the likely impact of SOA on your operations. -- Wednesday, February 22nd @ 12:00 PM EST * Your Roadmap to Getting Real with SOA -- Where are you on the SOA adoption curve? How can you craft an SOA-enabled business vision that will lead to optimal productivity and real innovation? What is the best path to achieve this vision for your organization? These are just some of the questions that our SOA methodology is designed to address as it provides a step-by-step roadmap for guiding users from strategy through implementation. -- Wednesday, March 15th @ 12:00 PM EST

Additional information on these and future programs can be found by visiting http://www.webmethods.com/events/web/GetRealWithSOA.

About webMethods, Inc.

webMethods provides business integration software to integrate, assemble and optimize available IT assets to drive business process productivity. webMethods delivers an innovative, enterprise-class business integration platform that incorporates proven integration technology with next generation capabilities into one interoperable set of tools that delivers a unique combination of efficiency, agility and control. webMethods combines industry leadership with a zealous commitment to customers to deliver tangible business value to more than 1,300 global customers. webMethods is headquartered in Fairfax, Va., with offices throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia Pacific and Japan. More information about the company can be found at http://www.webmethods.com/.

The webMethods name and logo are registered trademarks of, and webMethods Fabric is a trademark of, webMethods, Inc. All other marks mentioned are trademarks or service marks of their respective companies.

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CONTACT: John Conley, +1-703-460-5996, John.Conley@webMethods.com, or
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Web site: http://www.webmethods.com/