I found an interesting article over on Tech Target pertaining to SOA adoption which I found to be a bit vindicating. The article basically highlights research done by the Aberdeen Group.

"As the lead for Aberdeen's fact-based research on SOA, the analyst looks at data he has gathered from a thousand-plus companies and concludes that if 2005 was the year of SOA romance, by the end of 2006, the honeymoon is over. The promise of SOA cost-savings remains its biggest lure, he said, looking over the research he has gathered during six trips out into the field where he visited IT professionals who are actually trying to make SOA work."

Clearly, SOA is a complex thing, and those promoting the quick fix are quickly found out as organizations seek the value beyond the complexity. SOA is a worthwhile venture for most organizations, but at the end of the day is a complex and systemic change in architecture, thus painful. We'll continue to get these data points back from the field in 2007, and I'm seeing them in my practice as well.

The article goes on to say:

"He notes that most of the IT departments he's visited are in the first year to six months of trying to work with the new technology. In many cases, they do not yet have the skills and knowledge to build a complete SOA infrastructure, but he found some that have made meaningful progress. While it is difficult and will take years, a big payoff looms for those who put in the effort."

The key points for a successful SOA are:

- Smart people who understand the concept holistically, and can execute tactically. In many instances you need to change out the talent, or infuse the project with mentors.
- A key pain point for the organization you're addressing. What business issues will SOA address?
- A realistic expectation of results, including a longer term outlook on the value of the approach.

SOA is indeed "hard," but nothing worthwhile is easy. Indeed SOA is a journey, not a project, and the sooner we understand that the better we'll be able to execute to the benefit of the business.

With that, I'm done blogging for the year. I'll post again after the 1st.

Until them happy holidays, and keep working on that SOA.

Posted by Dave Linthicum on December 22, 2006 08:11 AM