Semantic Web and semantic Web services: father and son or indivisible twins?

The semantic Web is, without a doubt, gaining momentum in both industry and academia. The recent International Semantic Web Conference (ISWC) attracted more than 500 researchers; major vendors including IBM, Oracle, and Software AG have released or announced products; and the forthcoming Semantic Technology Conference in San Jose, California, is poised to be an impressive showcase for executives and venture capitalists on the business potential of semantic technologies. Unfortunately, semantic Web services are underrepresented on the agenda, at least if we take the number of scientific publications about semantic Web services as a proxy. Most semantic Web researchers dedicate their attention to annotating Web content stored in static documents or database-driven applications. Semantic Web services (SWS) frameworks are mandatory components of the semantic Web, primarily because entities are more willing to expose functionality than data in business settings.