1. Delivery of Industrial Strength Middleware Federated Strengths Agility & Coordination Prof. Malcolm Atkinson Director www.nesc.ac.uk 21 st January 2004

2. Challenges Complex & Rapidly evolving context Web services & Grid services Requirements & understanding Installed technology Plethora of emerging standards Rich variety of Contributors Industrial software teams Pioneering research teams Technology transfer teams International Adoption & Cooperation Europe, USA, Asia, … How can we maintain a sense of direction? How can we all pull in the same direction?

3. Requirement Common & Agreed Goals Joint effort to Develop understanding Established levels of Quality Shared Development Mechanisms Coordinated Planning Cooperative strategy for Standards & adoption All adapting rapidly to changing contexts

4. Proposal: Federation of Institutes Each Institute Engages a Region or Activity Stimulates activity Essential home for the middleware workers R&D Workshops Leadership, Outreach, Training & Education Forum for developing Common understanding Coordinated investment Campaigns to achieve standards & adopted platforms Network of Institutes Ensure collaboration – interact through workshops Combined Vision & Architectures

5. Example: OGSA-DAI Initiated in Database Task Force at NeSC Workshops of Developers & Users – Requirements driven Ideas developed Workshops of the UK Architectural Task Force Workshops on OGSA & OGSI with Globus, Oracle & IBM Prototypes from Research Quality Software from EPCC & IBM Launched standards effort at GGF – DAIS WG – Large Effort Training Courses for Users & Developers Coordinated effort Workshops on Software Development & Requirements Agreed Mechanisms & Schedule with Globus Formed Globus Alliance

6. Conclusion Must Invest in Building Collaboration Requires Regional or Sector Institutes Places & Stimulation ALL Workers have occasions to Meet Problem & Topic Driven Intensive & Frequent Workshops Training in Response to Need Skills required for quality Network of Institutes Intensive interaction through overlapping workshops