Hi David,

I was listening to your podcast, and I was saddened to hear how companies think that SOA investments can be reduced in hard financial times. If anything, you would think it would be the opposite. In particular, I just attended the ZapThink Practical SOA conference in Frankfurt, Germany and found that Europeans are not making this critical mistake. They see investment in architecture as a move towards efficiency, not one of superfluous spending. They think that US firms are making the wrong decision and making their financial situations worse by simply removing their EA investments.

I really think companies should learn from other organizations who have put SOA to use. Not to shamelessly plug the ZapThink events, but these are precisely the ones that people should go to in order to understand what's happening in the market (not vendor love-fests). They are running seven more this year and offering a $50 discount with use of code GAFPSOA1. It's work checking out.

The events are held all over the world, and focused on a number of industry and market sectors.

I hope you consider it when you’re composing your next post, even just a mention. Feel free to visit www.zapthink.com/eventreg.html (or mention the link to your readers). I’m spreading the news now about it because I am hoping they can get more people there!

Danielle
(NOT affiliated with ZapThink!)