University Business has a succinct article that provides some good examples of web services in action, and a short primer on the technology. I like it becuase it provides the “real world” examples — Web Services can be difficult to describe without falling into tech-speak.
The Emergence of Web Services.
UBC has a couple of good examples of Web Services — particularly in the “Consolidated Billing” area:
Presentation by Audrey Lindsay to e-Strategy (PPT)
UBC First in Canada to Launch New Form of Online Banking for Students (Krista Charbonneau, e-Strategy Update Newsletter)