1. For use in a publish/subscribe system, a method for resolving a unit of work involving a plurality of participants the method comprising the steps of: establishing subscriptions to a first topic by the plurality of participants and at least one component having access to an outcome associated with the unit of work; publishing, by the at least one component, a first message comprising a first outcome associated with the unit of work to the first topic; and in response to a failure associated with a first participant, causing a second participant to use the published first outcome to recover the unit of work.