These web services make it possible for our client companies to programmatically integrate EnergySteward.com with their existing in-house application portfolio.

The entire EnergySteward.com website utilizes these web services.  No direct database reads/updates are ever performed directly by the EnergySteward.com website, it simply issues calls to our catalog of web services.   These web services also include all edit checks against the data being posted to our databases, to ensure data integrity.  Examples on how our 'web services' architecture might be used include:

• Utilization of EnergySteward.com as central repository for pricing information.  Other internal systems can be automatically kept 'in synch' with pricing information via invocation of these web services.  Thus eliminating 're-keying' of pricing information to various other in-house systems. In EnergySteward.com these price indices (regardless of publication) are stored in a common structure and format AND our web services provide a common interface.  (Note: distribution and utilization of pricing information is subject to terms and conditions between client companies and price publication vendors).
• If required, EnergySteward.com could be utilized for being the primary source for a single centralized repository for critical customer related information.   This is sometimes important to organizations which have several operational systems which are already running in-house.  Each of these operational systems may have the same customer.  A central repository with a common interface which can be used to propagate updates becomes important when items such as the same customer address changes are required.  In this scenario, EnergySteward.com could be your central repository and once updated, the web services could be invoked to post these updates to the various other internal systems.
• EnergySteward.com could be utilized as a primary source for basic contract specific information, when this information is required within other in-house systems.  Sometimes companies have 3rd party applications (accounting, prospecting, risk, etc.) which are required to be 'in synch' with basic contract information.  EnergySteward.com, with its common web services integration capabilities, can be leveraged to perform this function.
• EnergySteward.com also can be integrated with your meter/well measurement application(s) so a central repository of measured volumes can be posted, for each meter/well, within EnergySteward.com. All of this can be done via our web services architecture.

Those are just a few of the ways to utilize the web service architecture for accessing contract related data within EnergySteward.com.  Our web services can be invoked at anytime (24 x 7 x 365).  EnergySteward.com incorporates a high level of security on these types of business-to-business integration events (see the our section on security).

The diagram below shows (at a high level) our web services system integration architecture.