Survey: Web services replaces security as top IT priority

More IT dollars are flowing to Web services development and deployment, a new survey shows. The Society of Information Management just released its annual top priorities list, and  found Web services -- which didn't even make the top five in last year's list -- has vaulted to the top. It even pushed out last year's top priority, security.

In second place behind Web services was business intelligence, security dropped to third place, in fourth place was business process management, and customer portals were fifth.

Web services have been around since the turn of the century. Why are they suddenly so important now? As reported in eWeek, Jerry Luftman, professor and associate dean at the Stevens Institute of Technology and a SIM vice president, attributes this surge of interest in Web services to "an increased emphasis on virtualization and SOA."

Web services -- and SOA -- may offer options for addressing the most throbbing pain points IT executives are experiencing. The survey of 139 SIM members, announced at the group's annual meeting this week, also asked IT executives about their top-of-mind worries. Not surprisingly, the list is lead by the need to align IT with business strategy. Reducing complexity and business processing re-engineering also made the top 10 list of concerns.