Without architecture, SOA is just a bunch of mashups that may or may not really solve an organization's issues. SOA is capturing attention around the world, but the task of creating and managing a truly service-oriented architecture can be elusive. Here we'll explore the creation and management of an enterprise-wide architecture that implements a company's business plans through a comprehensive set of interconnected services.

Modeling Improves SOA Management
Change and update are perpetual dynamics in both business and IT. Proactive IT teams recognize that an agile environment in which business and IT efficiently collaborate and communicate with each other and among themselves enables quick adaptation to changes in business strategy and tactics. IT must look beyond business models and technologies to see how their efforts can help deliver cost-effective solutions that satisfy numerous stakeholders. IT solutions must be evaluated on their contribution to strategic business objectives. Due to differences in their mode of operation, business and IT have traditionally had difficulty in communicating requirements to one another in a way that each understand.

Technology and best practices have been evolving to help bridge this gap. Emerging initiatives and technologies like those found in service-oriented architecture (SOA) increase agility by successfully uniting business and IT in a collaborative environment. SOA empowers and encourages IT and business teams to work together while describing and analyzing their business strategies and technologies. This enhanced communication and collaboration gives IT teams the ability to implement information systems and IT solutions that support company goals and objectives.

Introducing SOA can be viewed as the best way to start an organization on the path to success. Sadly, it can also be viewed as a way to send an organization into a quagmire. For all its great potential, SOA introduces a new level of complexity and sophistication to the development and deployment of networked applications that link to a company's plans and objectives. To be truly effective, SOA must be thoughtfully introduced and carefully managed. There has to be an encompassing approach that allows SOA to do its magic without letting it rule the kingdom.

We will discuss how modeling can be applied, not only to manage SOA, but to create an environment for success throughout the enterprise.

Architecture Is the Guiding Principle
Without architecture, SOA is just a bunch of mashups that may or may not work together. An architectural approach to SOA identifies high-level business requirements to help ensure that each ultimate solution truly meets business needs. To bridge the often sizable gap between the needs of the business and the realities of design, SOA's abstracted approach requires a clear definition at all stages of specification and development.