SO - What IS SOA, anyway? (part 1)
Ah ... it had to happen, didn't it? Now that I finally kick this blog into gear, I had to start out by asking that annoying, fundamental question:"What is Service Oriented Architecture, or S O A?"
Well, where should I start?
First of all, and perhaps most important - or at least very fundamental - SOA is, as the name implies, an architecture. It is not a product, a product set or a bundle of software. It is also not a specific technology or set of technologies. It is a set of principles and policies that sets a frame of reference.
So, no ... when a vendor tells you that "to SOA" you need their SOA product suite, don't accept that as the truth, and under no circumstance expect to be handed a shortcut to SOA. It's wrong, and in the worst case, you might end up on a deroute away from the entire purpose of SOA and compromising the value of your architecture.
No, you have to do all the tedious bits. You have to start at the very top, understanding the very philosophy of service orientation, and from there, you need to figure out what your requirements are, drill down into the essence of your business and rethink it. Understanding your business is the first step in building your architecture.
That's right. SOA is about business - not about technology. So why is it, that 99% of SOA projects are IT-driven and lack business unit interaction?
Actually - If you have an answer to that question, I'll be very happy to hear it! My best guess is, that it is because IT-vendors treat SOA as a tangible product portfolio as opposed to the rather abstract concepts of "business philosophy" and "architecture". In short - it's easier to sell SOA based on technology than it is to sell it based on understanding.
But - and this might not be a perfect analogy - it is like selling a painting by Picasso based solely on information about canvas and paint, not motif, colours and composition. Hopefully we can all agree that doing so would be more than wrong, it would greatly reduce the value of the investment.
For all I know, this blog might well end up containing a lot of stuff about technology. It is not the intent, and if it does, please try to remember that technology is a means, not a goal.
So much for the "A" in S O A. Tomorrow, I will try to blog a bit about the "S".
Happy new year to you all. Thank you for your patience.
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December 3rd, 2007