A system and method for providing asynchrony in web services, such as Java-based web services, including in some instances use of a distributed in-memory data grid. Embodiments of the system allow a client application or client to make requests upon a server application or service. A queuing feature, such as one or more Java Message Service (JMS) queues, can be used to store incoming requests at the server side, to support asynchronous behavior. In accordance with an embodiment, instead of or in addition to JMS, the system can use a distributed in-memory data grid, such as Oracle Coherence, to provide queuing functionality.