> It's amazing to watch Microsoft
> continually be so clueless.

There is always a niche that buys everything from Microsoft (even blindly). There is also the perception that more pricey means better product. The key is educating (informing) the customer whose mindset is stuck in the past, fixed on old business models.

Zack,

> 'Shrink-Wrapped SOA' is oxymoronic minus the oxy.

LOL...

In Microsoft's defense, or rather, in the shoes of some (possibly large) portion of customers, this is exactly what customers are asking for. Before you laugh, I can think of at least two instances where developers have asked: "Which version of WebSphere is the SOA version"? Some customers don't have the time to keep up with everything that IT vendors throw their way. These folks are too busy running their businesses.

I make no claims about whether Microsoft's offerings allow enable a loosely-coupled architecture without being locked-in. They may or may not. I'm simply suggesting that a 'shrink-wrapped SOA' is exactly what some portion of customers are asking for.