"Actually SOAP is a very very simple envelope protocol that the other companies agreed to go with just to please MS and encourage them to stay with the standards. "

No argument that SOAP lives up to its name by being simple. Simplicity is essential for something of this nature. Otherwise you get locked into one vendor or another's platform.

I got a chuckle out of your assertion that other companies didn't want to hurt MS's feelings. IBM and the other MS competitors see an opportunity for their customers to use services running on MS platforms at no additional cost to themselves. They are hoping that this increased accessability will provide them with a competitive edge.