Providing web services to mobile users: the architecture design of an m-service portal

In order to reduce costs and gain competitive advantages, many companies are offering web services that enable software components to be accessed by their customers and trading partners over the internet. With the latest advances in mobile computing and communication technologies, web services are increasingly used to expose functionalities of many legacy systems so that more business-oriented mobile applications can be developed. In this paper, we first use a generic technical architecture. Then, we provide a classification matrix for grouping various mobile services. The architecture design of an m-service portal is proposed, followed by the description of an m-service prototype in support of e-procurement developed by the authors. Potential enhancement to the m-service portal using agent technology is also discussed. Finally, we suggest some further research issues of dynamic web services in the context of m-service portals and context-aware m-services.