Four-Day Public Class: Web Services, WS-I Standards, and the ACORD Messaging Service

In co-operation with ACORD and Microsoft

Taught by David S. Platt

President of Rolling Thunder Computing, Instructor in Computer Science at Harvard University Extension School, noted author and software developer (full bio)

(Dates TBA) in Waltham MA, USA (near Boston)

Early-Bird Discount! $250 off if registered by (date TBA)

Click Here to Register Online (will be activated when dates finalized)

XML Web Services, based on SOAP, have become the standard mechanism for exchanging data between disparate systems. ACORD XML standards for life, P&C, and reinsurance each specify the insurance-related payload of an XML stream. But they don't specify the mechanism by which trading partners exchange these streams, leaving them as implementation details between each set of trading partners. Without further standardization, nobody can talk to anybody without expensive, time-consuming custom development that produces a brittle product.

The ACORD Messaging Service (AMS) solves these problems by specifying the ways in which ACORD data streams are to be transferred by means of XML Web Services.  The AMS builds on the OASIS standard of  SOAP with Attachments. It covers payloads from all three insurance domains, life, P&C, and reinsurance.  You can examine the AMS specification at  this link.

This training class is intended for developers, architects, and managers who will be working on exchanging ACORD XML data through web services and SOAP. It discusses the basics of web services, then covers web service security in some depth. It then discusses the ACORD Messaging Service, both in its current form and its potential future evolutions.

Your instructor is the world famous David S. Platt, author of many books on web services and other aspects of programming. He has worked with and taught about ACORD standards since the first OLE for Life Insurance standard in 1995. He teaches software development at Harvard University and at companies all over the world. He successfully developed the first Microsoft platform SOAP With Attachments message formatter to be certified by ACORD as meeting the AMS standard. He was named a Software Legend by Microsoft in 2003.

Schedule/Topic Grid:                  

(click here for full syllabus)

Location: Class is held at the Microsoft Technology Center at 890 Winter St, Waltham MA. Directions and suggested accommodations are at this link. 

Cost: US$ 1750 per person if registered and paid by (date TBA). US$ 2000 per  person thereafter.

Cancellation And Substitution Policy: Full refund if cancellation received by 5PM ET on [date TBA]. No refund if cancellation received thereafter. Unlike an airline ticket, the registration is completely transferable. You may substitute a different attendee at any time for any reason, even sell your seat on EBay for whatever you can get for it.

EXTRA! Includes dinner with the instructor at the Harvard University Faculty Club on a night to be determined.

Dates don't work for you, or too many attendees for your travel budget? You can have this class taught in-house at your company. Click here to read about in-house classes, then call for details. It's usually cost-effective if you have 6 or more students. 

GUARANTEED! We stand firmly behind our training class and the knowledge we're confident you'll gain from attending. You must be completely satisfied with the quality and results of this training, or we will fully refund your tuition. 

Registration: Fill out our online registration form. [Activated when dates are announced]  (Note: this may take up to a minute to load).   The only accepted method of payment is online credit card (V / MC / AX ).