Service-oriented architecture (SOA) is the next big wave concerning IT, and South African business would do well to prepare to embrace it and potentially leapfrog ahead of other markets in deriving business benefit.
That was the common theme running through presentations by enterprise architecture experts speaking at a CIO forum hosted by Software AG in Sandton yesterday.
BMI-TechKnowledge services research manager Roy Blume said SA would be wise to follow its traditional approach of holding back and learning from the mistakes made elsewhere before seeking to derive competitive advantage through aggressive adoption of SOA when the time is right.
SOA adoption in the US and Europe will peak around 2009, according to the International Data Corporation, but Blume said it will probably be delayed until a year later in SA.
US-based Software AG chief SOA architect Theo Beack detailed the SOA advantages of modernising current IT environments instead of having to replace assets. These include greater business process agility, better alignment between business and IT, and a single view of information.
However, Blume cautioned against rushing in without sufficient knowledge and understanding of organisational goals.
"SOA is a great enabler of change, but it is not inherently simple, usually requires a long-term commitment, and has to bridge technology and business to be successful and show a return on investment," Blume said.
Software AG business development manager Emma Murray agreed with Blume and Beack that the move to SOA is inevitable as companies are driving it as a methodology for improving business processes.
"Future competitive advantage won't come from technology, but in how organisations use technology to make business work and industry leadership will come from a focus on business process optimisation through SOA," said Murray.
Beack detailed some performance gains and returns on investment in projects in the US, backing up his bullish position on SOA.
"SOA is a practical idea, we are already seeing lots of business benefits and I expect it to be wildly successful from a business perspective," Beack concluded.
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