The swift currents of software technology are easier to navigate when you
find familiar guide points. It is possible to view service-oriented architecture as an update to
object-oriented computing – but one that is based on Web services. In the same way, cloud computing
architecture can be seen as an update to grid computing architecture – but one that builds on
expanded use of virtualization technology. For that matter, early cloud computing built decisively
on the very services architecture that SOA brought to the world. The services aspect of cloud
computing again is gaining attention.
The SOA-cloud continuum is well documented in the work of David Linthicum, whose expert cloud
commentary has graced SearchSOA.com's pages in recent years in the form of QAs, columns and
podcasts. Taken together, these pieces outline the dual and interrelated paths of cloud and
SOA.
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in a
2009 podcast, Linthicum discussed cloud computing as a way to do SOA. SOA is in essence an
architectural pattern, he said. It is a way of looking at systems so they are more flexible and
easier to redeploy - important aspects of cloud architecture. Certainly the SOA notion that
services could reside off-site and be called as needed was a precursor to cloud.Last year, in a Q&A interview, Linthicum discussed the then just-burgeoning online data services market and how different types of services and feeds can be used as part of cloud integrations. He noted that these days these are typically RESTful services.
In his most recent column on this site, Linthicum points to the difficulty cloud providers have in either ''talking the talk'' or ''walking the walk'' when it comes to SOA on the cloud computing architecture. ''The reality is that most cloud providers out there have no clue as to the value of SOA to their core business,'' he laments. Check out more from the SearchSOA Linthicum collection below.
More from David Linthicum
Linthicum on solidifying the SOA and cloud computing links
Cloud Computing and SOA Convergence in Your Enterprise
Application integration expert Linthicum on cloud computing
Cloud computing moves towards governance, gateways and security
Mixing Web services with mobile devices
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