Hoping to build a bridge between the Java and .Net worlds, the Open Source Business Foundation has unveiled a platform that, for the first time, leverages service-oriented architecture for cloud computing.

The secret sauce that blends the Java and .Net worlds is the Internet service bus, or ISB, which allows corporate and third-party developers to access online applications as a service through an integrated Web-based application.

With the ISB, developers can get at and use existing, battle-tested code to build applications that can commute back and forth between Java and .Net worlds.

Anticipating that cloud computing will dominate the computing landscape in the next few years, Open Source Business Foundation officials believe it's important to lay the technical foundations for users now.

"Cloud computing is the future, which is why we have defined two projects -- the ISB and the Identity Network Service, both of which focus squarely on customer requirements now," said Andreas Hartl, head of the OSBF Interoperability Project group and director of platform strategy at Microsoft Germany.

Hartl added that the ISB makes it possible for a variety of different services to interact with each other. Complimenting this capability, the IBS allows developers and users to access such combined services through a single sign on to the cloud.

At the annual CeBit conference in Germany Thursday, the OSBF demonstrated for attendees exactly how a single Web-based application can secure patient data coming from multiple sources. Officials showed how nurses can be given very specific access to individual sets of secure personal data.

The ISB, which is built on the open source platform of Sopera, specialists in SOA, provides the bridge between the Java and .Net worlds. In the nursing example, the software united Open-Xchange, Microsoft Exchange, and Microsoft's Virtual Earth through the same Web browser.

The new platform not only presents new technical advantages, but also gives software makers and hosting companies the flexibility to explore emerging cloud-based business models, OSFB officials claim.

At present, members of the OSBF Interoperability project group consist of Microsoft, 1&1, Corisecio, Open-Xchange, and Sopera.

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