Making service-oriented architecture (SOA) work successfully in business was the theme of this year's ITWeb SOA conference, at Gallagher Estate, on 19 September.
One of the key topics discussed by panellists at the conference was defining the concept of SOA and what it can do.
Ivo Vegter, MC of the event, said: "SOA is not something tangible." It can be described as a blueprint or architecture, he added, and this nebulous nature makes it easier to look at SOA rather in terms of what it does and what returns on investment it can give.
The primary function of SOA is to provide business agility and flexibility, and it should allow IT to respond to changing business processes and needs, quickly and effectively, according to speakers and delegates at the conference.
Speaking during a panel discussion regarding the function of SOA, Alvin Paules, chief technology architect for SAP Africa, said: "SOA applied in a large business will allow it to react to business demands as if it were a small business."
Apart from business agility and flexibility, SOA - when implemented successfully - has a number of advantages for both the business and IT.
Providing examples, Neil Cave, senior consultant at Deloitte Consulting, said: "The nature of the implementation process helps both business and IT understand their business better. Mapping of processes gives insight into how the business does what it does."
Adding to this, Dr Giles Nelson, director of technology for Progress Software, said: "Services give insight into data, allowing for prediction of behaviour and complex event processing." In addition, SOA allows for code reusability, translating into reductions in cost and time spent on projects, he noted.
However, SOA is inherently complex and selecting the correct SOA tool is critical; the wrong tool can result in constraints and limitations defeating the purpose of SOA adoption, argued Cave.
A report compiled by the Butler Group listed IBM, Oracle and Tibco as coming out tops in regards to SOA implementation tools.
Teresa Jones, senior research analyst for Butler Group, stated that research had shown over the past year that there has been no significant growth in the number of companies adopting SOA.
She attributed this to a lack of knowledge about SOA, a lack of budget for its implementation and various other challenges.
Speakers agreed that SOA can be costly to implement, especially if going for a 'rip and replace' approach. If adopting a more moderate approach, where legacy applications are going to be incorporated, the challenge is how to most effectively incorporate the correct applications.
Certain elements to consider when implementing a successful SOA repeatedly came to the fore:
Adoption of SOA needs to be business-driven and IT-led. The services must map back to a business activity or function.
It is important to have a deep understanding of how SOA will affect all aspects of the IT and business environment.
There must be a means of assessing where the business is now, where it needs to be and how to get there.
As far as possible, the SOA should be standards-based, allowing for easy integration and adaptability through a homogenous system.
For SOA to fulfill the businesses needs, it is essential that business and IT talk the same language when discussing what functionality is needed.
Close collaboration throughout the implementation process will facilitate this and ensure resources, such as time and money, are not wasted.
Finally, a centre of excellence (COE) is essential, said Luc Vogeleer, EMEA SOA competency manager for HP Sophia Antipolis, France. "It should comprise key individuals from both business and IT."
He listed the following benefits of a COE:
Promotes a standardised service-oriented infrastructure, development methods and operational procedures.
Allows for increased business agility.
Reduces risk, complexity, redundancy and support complexity.
Enables re-use and therefore time spent.
Ensures businesses show one face to its customers.
In closing, Nelson said: "SOA is a journey, getting started is key. Don't try and change the world; pick a project and use principles and standards-based technology. Finally, adopt the Nike approach and 'just do it'."
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