"I think the WS-I Basic Profiles are always a good thing because they constrain the specifications, so it gives developers fewer things to worry about," Manes said.

"The main reason that you want profiles is they explain how to use the specifications the right way and ensure that you will get a better chance of achieving interoperability," Manes said.

She acknowledged that the plethora of Web services specifications can cause confusion among developers. Manes said she has counted 52 WS-* (spoken as "ws star") specifications for standardizing Web services operations.

"That's enough to make anybody's head spin," Manes said.

WS-I has been providing guidance on Web services specifications to OASIS, which oversees many of them, Manes said.