SOA 101 – it's about the architecture, stupid

SOA 101 – it's about the architecture, stupid

Simplicity has its merits. For instance, K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid, not the rock band) principles are handy when it comes to service-oriented architecture.

Last week we took a mid-year look at the state of SOA and much of the discouragement stemmed from fruitless technology squabbles and users being led down blind alleys.

Ron Schmelzer, senior analyst at ZapThink LLC, noted, "Many end-users are being misled with regards to proper SOA adoption - focusing them more on implementing new infrastructure and not as much on building well-architected services." Architecture may be the last word in SOA, but it is the primary concern. Analysts wear themselves out making this point. They hammer on the notion that architecture should take precedence over technology, that the latter ought to conform to the former.

Burton Group recently bemoaned tech-centric SOA worst practices. Anne Thomas Manes, vice president and research director at Burton, said, "SOA is an enterprise architecture style, not an application architecture style." Once again, note the simplicity at the heart of the statement – Manes stresses architecture in regard to SOA.

Heck, even if we were talking about the rock band KISS. They've kept

    Requires Free Membership to View

    Login

    When you register, you'll begin receiving targeted emails from my team of award-winning writers. Our goal is to keep you informed on recent service-oriented architecture (SOA) and SOA-related topics such as integration, governance, Web services, Cloud and more.

    Hannah Smalltree, Editorial Director

    By submitting your registration information to SearchSOA.com you agree to receive email communications from TechTarget and TechTarget partners. We encourage you to read our Privacy Policy which contains important disclosures about how we collect and use your registration and other information. If you reside outside of the United States, by submitting this registration information you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States. Your use of SearchSOA.com is governed by our Terms of Use. You may contact us at webmaster@TechTarget.com.

it pretty simple. Outlandish costumes + pyrotechnics + power chords = legions of rabid fans. SOA doesn't need to be any trickier. Architecture is king. As Schmelzer said, what you build should be well-architected. This applies to data architecture as well. You need data governance so that your data conforms to your service orientation efforts.

The architecture focus is why you find such a broad range of users pursuing SOA. This week we lead off with a story about Pacific Blue Cross. Recently we've had user stories on prison management company Corrections Corporation of America, the Finnish military and the CERN physics laboratory. It doesn't really matter what you business is, well-architected services can deliver value.


This was first published in July 2007

Disclaimer: Our Tips Exchange is a forum for you to share technical advice and expertise with your peers and to learn from other enterprise IT professionals. TechTarget provides the infrastructure to facilitate this sharing of information. However, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or validity of the material submitted. You agree that your use of the Ask The Expert services and your reliance on any questions, answers, information or other materials received through this Web site is at your own risk.

Back to top