May 15, 2008

Part II: SOA vendors focus too much on integration and not enough on architecture

I seem to have hit a nerve with my last post "SOA vendors focus too much on integration and not enough on architecture." You can read the comments, but the reaction was: Vendors…no like (based on IP addresses). End users…confused (based on IP addresses). Let me be clearer. A few core reactions and my guidance. SOA vendors don't need to understand architecture. They do indeed, this includes architecture in general, and "an architecture" specifically…yours for instance. The fact of the matter is that when you're selling technology, it's a tad helpful if you understand its logical fit within the SOA.... more

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May 13, 2008

SOA vendors focus too much on integration and not enough on architecture

We've seen the hype: "We're a SOA tool, and we're here to help." However, most SOA vendors out there don't understand the value of SOA, nor how to approach SOA. They focus on the tactical, and not the strategic. Why? Because the tactical is easier for them to sell, and for them to understand. However, by doing that they are selling their customers short. Take integration, for example. We've understood how to do integration since the early days of EAI, and indeed it's clearly a component of SOA. However, integration, on its own, is not architecture. Thus, just binding systems... more

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May 13, 2008

Looking at enterprise architecture

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May 06, 2008

People and SOA

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May 04, 2008

How to win with SOA ... finally, focus longer term

Finally, SOA is a long term solution. No ROI will come soon for the majority of enterprises that leverage SOA approaches and technology, thus the value will be understood in years, not months. This is an especially difficult concept when you consider that most American businesses operate quarter to quarter, and budgets and objects change monthly. Thus, longer term projects such as SOA, which are both complex and systemic, are difficult if not impossible to maintain over time in some organizations. What's needed is a much longer term outlook. The best advice is to get investment and commitment from the... more

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May 04, 2008

How to win with SOA ... fourth, remember the people

SOAs are not built by computers; they are built and managed by people. As such, you have to consider the impact to the humans as well as the impact to the enterprise architecture. There are two places to focus here. First, focus on the SOA-ability of the people building the SOA. Second, focus on those who will be using the services and interfaces of the SOA. Those tasked with building a SOA need to have a firm grasp of traditional enterprise architecture, and the notion, approaches, and technology of SOA. For most organizations that's a tall order, and outside consultants... more

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May 04, 2008

How to win with SOA ... third, focus on understanding

While many may understand the notion of SOA by now, very few have any idea how to get there. Truth-be-told, there is no hard and fast rule as to how one builds an SOA in their organization. Clearly, SOA is a situational thing and your mileage may vary. However, some common patterns are emerging which may assist you in understanding how to implement SOA. Here are a few things to think about when building your SOA, and really where the rubber meets the road in terms of insuring your success…understanding your own issues and requirements. Understand your business objectives, and... more

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May 04, 2008

How to win with SOA ... second, define the value

We implement SOA for two major reasons. First is the ability to save development dollars through reuse of services. These services may have been built inside or outside of the company, and the more services that are reusable from system to system, the more ROI from our SOA. Second is the ability to change the IT infrastructure faster to adapt to changing needs of the business. This, of course, provides a huge strategic advantage and thus allows for the business to have better chances of survival long-term. While determining the ROI on agility is difficult to figure out in hard... more

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May 04, 2008

How to win with SOA ... first, understand the pain

I've been getting a lot of e-mails about this…Those seeking general advice around SOA, and how to win. Here's my best shot at that. Here are 5 surefire ways that, if followed, will make your SOA a success. They are: 1. Understand the pain. 2. Define the value. 3. Focus on understanding. 4. Remember the people. 5. Focus longer term. Understand the pain. In many modern global 2000 companies, the enterprise architectures are badly broken and hinder the businesses ability to change. For instance, a recent survey by the Business Performance Management Institute found that only 11 percent of executives... more

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May 01, 2008

SOA issues are people issues: where have you heard that before?

According to the Burton Group the issues around SOA are not as much about technology and complexity, it's about the people and the processes within an enterprise. Indeed, in this recent Network World article, some of these issues are highlighted. "'The state of the union of SOA right now is there's some fatigue set in,' Howard [Burton Group's Chris Howard] said, noting that when he recently asked an audience of 300 people whether their SOA efforts were going well, only a half dozen responded positively." "The problem's not technology, Howard said. People and processes are at the heart of what's... more

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April 29, 2008

Report from the Web 2.0 Expo

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April 28, 2008

PaaS and the Web 2.0 Expo

 I'm back from the Web 2.0 Expo, actually got back Saturday morning. Meant to post a quick summary blog on Friday, but felt a bit under the weather which I found is twice as worse when taking the overnight flight. However, things are back to normal on this Monday morning. Okay, back to business. While the Web 2.0 Expo is very eclectic, from social networking, to MP3 to text, to Web devices, what was core to the show this year was the number of platform-as-a-service, or PaaS providers that have come onto the scene. We know the larger ones... more

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April 23, 2008

Web 2.0…It’s About Process Outsourcing

I'm at the Web 2.0 Expo this week, my 3rd time here. This is a cool show, and the only one I attend where I'm not speaking. Thus, more relaxing and more time to learn from others, rather than teaching. If there is a clear trend at this show it is that the Web 2.0 is no longer about social networking, SaaS, Web communities, or rich internet applications, it's about moving as many of the core business processes as you can to the platform of the Web. Or, perhaps better put: Web-enabled process outsourcing. You only need to consider the... more

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April 22, 2008

The New Web and SOA

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April 22, 2008

Why WOA/SOA is Misunderstood

I figured this would happen. With the birth of a new three letter acronym (TLA), in this case WOA (Web Oriented Architecture), there are some that are pushing back and missing the point entirely. Case in point is a recent article by Michael Meehan "Does WOA bring anything new to SOA?" . Normally, Michael is spot on, but he is a bit off target here. Michael recently polled some architects about the notion of WOA, and reported back the results. "…but I figured I should ask a few architects what they think of the concept to see if it's got... more

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April 20, 2008

SOA/WOA Continues to Gain Momentum on the Web

As I'm heading out to the Web 2.0 Conference this week, we seem to be riding a new wave…or the combination of two waves really…the Web and SOA. As Dana Gardner points out in his most recent post, the amount of thought leadership that's been going on around this concept has increased exponentially. Dana points out recent posts by myself, Joe McKendrick, Tony Baer, Dana, Phil Wainewright, and Burton Group's Anne Manes. "Moreover, others have been also developing concepts and methodologies for providing the means for enterprises to exploit pure web resources for advancing developer productivity and business process extensibility."... more

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April 16, 2008

SOA on Twitter...Linthicum on Twitter

On Twitter now, if you're looking to follow me. Search for DavidLinthicum. Twittering about SOA stuff daily. Join in.... more

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April 16, 2008

Web 2.0 Here I Come

Off to the Web 2.0 conference next week in San Francisco. What does the new Web have to do with SOA? Everything. See you there.... more

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April 16, 2008

If you see SaaS without Services…They are not SaaS at All

There are too many SaaS players to list these days, in fact I would say that you can find any application on-demand, including human resource management, business risk management, logistics and supply management, and of course customer relationship management, so on, and so on... The number of startups I'm seeing in the SaaS space goes thousands these days, and it keeps growing. However, what's becoming annoying to those who are employing SaaS is that while the visual interfaces are always there, the ability to access both information and application behavior, as an API or service, is not there most of... more

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April 15, 2008

Should We Continue to Invest in Enterprise Architecture?

It's an old argument for me. I mean, why toss good money after bad, if indeed you're not getting the results. Truth-be-told most enterprises are not spending that much on enterprise architecture. Indeed, for most of the Global 2000 there is a lone architect, with a couple of staffers, that has no budgetary nor referential authority, thus no results. You can't "influence" your way to success, you have to have some kind of hammer drop on somebody's head if they don't follow the core architectural principles…it's called governance. Thus, there are groups of people drawing very nice paychecks that don't... more

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