This paper examines the opportunities and challenges related to data and process integration architectures in the context
of Web Services. A primary goal of most enterprises in today’s economic environment is to improve productivity by streamlining
and aggregating business processes. This paper illustrates how integration architectures based on Web Services offer new opportunities
to improve productivity that are expedient and economical. First, the paper introduces the technical standards associated
with Web Services and provides business example for illustration. Abstracting from this example, we introduce a concept we
call Process Aggregation that incorporates data aggregation and workflow to improve productivity. We show that Web Services
will have a major impact on Process Aggregation, making it both faster and less expensive to implement. Finally, we suggest
some research directions relating to the Process Aggregation challenges facing Web Services that are not currently being addressed
by standards bodies or software vendors. These include context mediation, trusted intermediaries, quality and source selection,
licensing and payment mechanisms, and systems development tools.