1. A computer-implemented method for providing an object responsive to receiving a Web services protocol request message from an entity over a network, the Web services protocol for accessing resources represented using extensible markup language (XML), the method comprising: accessing a first representation of the object in a directory, the first representation of the object being organized in accordance with a hierarchical data model; generating a second representation of the object based on at least the first representation of the object, the second representation of the object being organized in accordance with an XML data model, by at least generating a first XML element that represents a most derived structural object class associated with the first representation of the object, and generating one or more second XML elements nested within the first XML element, each of the one or more second XML elements naming a respective attribute associated with the first representation of the object; and transmitting a Web services protocol response message including the second representation of the object to the entity over the network.