|
by Eric Marks, Contributing Editor   | Abstract: | For companies grappling with what it means to have a service-oriented architecture, it's important to cut through the hype. |
Now that 2006 is upon us, it's time to revisit one of my favorite topics: service-oriented architecture (SOA). Based on industry buzz, I felt that 2005 was going to be the "Year of the SOA," and there truly was tremendous SOA activity last year. Many SOA technology vendors were acquired by large incumbents such as Oracle, BEA, and IBM. More startups have emerged to fill various seams in the emerging SOA technology stack. And end-users are really trying to understand SOA and the requirements for successful migration to reusable interoperable services. Let's explore a few of the big SOA ideas to set the stage for 2006. SOA governance has emerged as a mission-critical facet of SOA. SOA governance establishes the organizational model, processes, and policies and standards upon which an SOA will be based in a given organizational setting. It also defines budgeting and service ownership guidelines for an organization, and it ultimately specifies a body of policies that, when enforced through various governance processes, will drive conformance to the standards and guidelines that help ensure interoperability of services in the SOA. While SOA governance is recognized as a critical element, many organizations confuse the process of governing with the implementation of governance. Many IT executives recognize the need for SOA governance and acquire a service registry to implement it. Yet buying a service registry, or any product for that matter, does not deliver it. Not even close. SOA governance is an organizational operating model and process that enables the definition, management, and enforcement of SOA policies. [Click to continue] |