The next shift is to an object-oriented form of distributed application that is Web-enabled and peer-to-peer -- and here's where the old types of middleware run out of steam, ... The new companies bubbling up in this area want to ensure they can underpin the new paradigm, and IBM obviously thinks it's best to buy one of the few hardware companies here than try and build something itself.

What operators should be doing ?- and what the standards bodies working in this area are encouraging them to do ?- is to create a policy architecture : a unified framework that embraces all the layers of policy needed in their organization.