Nortel Networks has entered the service oriented architecture space by expanding its partnership with IBM.

The two companies plan to tie together communications and application departments within corporations through the use of web services.

Nortel will enable web services on its existing soft switches and Session Initiation Protocol application servers. The vendor also vowed to enable its SOA services on networks that use third-party switches by the first quarter of next year.

The network SOAs will allow developers to craft applications within Lotus Sametime that offer online presence information about a user or indicate whether somebody is on the phone. An application also will be able to initiate a VoIP conversation.

SOAs allow developers to piece together applications from pre-built components, offering a dramatic reduction in application development time and costs.

Over time, applications are expected to be built by 'dragging and dropping' services. This would allow educated users to create their own applications and thereby ensure that new tools meet their needs.

The IBM-Nortel alliance expands the focus of SOAs from software development to include network infrastructure.

Networking giant Cisco has also been beating the SOA drum under the Data Centre 3.0 banner.

Cisco is using XML to tag network data, allowing the network to prioritise important information and perform simple tasks within the router.

The firm has also been offering its IP phones as an application platform, allowing developers to create and run software on the devices.