Abstract
This paper proposes the use of service-based architectures as a way to bring the benefits of ubiquitous computing solutions to real world problems. We compare this services approach to the traditional view of computer applications as user tools, noticing that service providers can bring significant economies of scale not only in monetary terms but also in computational simplifications based on multiple user data aggregation and large scale data information processing and gathering. We argue for such ubiquitous services by analyzing the evolution of the World Wide Web in the last two decades and the success of service providers such as Google, eBay, and Mapquest in changing the way people live; and by showing how a services approach can make feasible many solutions to real problems such as urban congestion, preventive health care, and global trade. © 2007 IEEE.