SOA first requires the business to have a good business process which support the service oriented model. Most businesses have no appetite for this, therefore moving off square 1 is pointless for them. Sorry IBM and friends. We don't need it, and we don't want it. Nothing to do with IT or p2p service lookup (bizarre).

Are companies seriously having difficulty understanding the concept of a scalable registry of services? Maybe they should throw out all their copies of the Yellow Pages.

This stuff is already over 20 years old and ought to be common knowledge by now. Honestly, if they can't understand something as simple as indirection, what hope is there?

The main problem with SOA is the old EAI tool vendors re-badging their solutions as SOA enablers.

Having been working with SOA technologies for the last 5 years I get fed up with hearing about these EAI solution vendors muddying the waters.

I think businesses embarking on a SOA plan need to be able to break the project down into small bite-size chunks and follow a more agile methodology to try and demonstrate benefit and hence sell it to the business.

Jeff makes points which should be branded on the hands of CIO's!

1. Have a plan

2. Break the project down into bite-sized chunks

3. Follow a more agile methodology

4. Demonstrate benefits to Sell It to the business!!

Its so simple, its IT101, but its so rarely done.

Change every occurrence of 'SOA' in that article to the 1960's term 'Data Processing' and it still [seems to] make sense.

What does that tell you?

AndyD 8-)#

Its an architecture, a methodoligy, a design philosophy etc.

Admitedly there are standards but you can be pretty certain that you will be the only one actually using the particular standard and version that you pick!

SOA is alive and well its just that none of the "products" are particulary good or usefull. Most SOA involves adapting and mutating an existing architecture and applications, in a mature organisation this will take years and none of the off the shelf "solutions" are particularly helpfull here.