The document discusses web services as a technology for building distributed applications and sharing resources over a network. It describes how web services allow data, services, and users to be distributed throughout a peer-to-peer network. Users can compose processing chains from reusable services to add value to data. This architecture helps users find and access resources while reducing their burden. The document also discusses some challenges with using web services, such as inadequate service catalogs and a lack of semantic interoperability.