ABOVE THE NOISE: Pots, kettles, and black standards - Vendors create problems for IT organizations looking to move ahead on Web services.(Editorial)

VENDORS LIKE TO create the illusion that they all work together to move the industry forward by cooperating to develop industry standards. But the truth is almost the exact opposite. The standards process has always been tainted with vendor politics, and in recent weeks the situation has only gotten worse. And as usual, IT organizations will be paying the price for vendor chicanery.

The latest intrigue surrounds the development of standards around Web services. In case you missed it, BEA, IBM, and Microsoft recently agreed to cooperate in the development of future Web services standards as part of an effort to speed the adoption of Web services. Obviously, the two …