Problem: Existing protocols are not XML-oriented
Solution: SOAP
  - Originally "Simple Object Access Protocol"
 
  - Now just a
name
 
  - Protocol for message passing
 
  - Based
on XML
 
  - Layered on top of transmission protocols (HTTP, etc.)
 
  - SOAP
1.1 produced by individual companies
 
  - SOAP
1.2 is being standardized at W3C