The SOA Challenge

Big promise

SOA’s big promise is the affordable and consistent integration of heterogeneous applications using open-source, Web-based technology.

Open-source standards not only enable interoperability and reuse but also reduce development costs by opening interfaces and providing virtually limitless options. SOA’s flexibility allows IT departments and solution providers to quickly create and update services that are manageable and secure.

Properly defined and well implemented, SOA delivers tremendous value to businesses in terms of the flexibility and agility required to respond to changing market trends, Padmanabhuni said.

That’s the theory, anyway. The reality is less straightforward.

One of the biggest problems with SOA is confusion about what it is and does, said Paul O’Connor, SOA practice director for solution provider E-brilliance. O’Connor said some software vendors and consulting companies sometimes misrepresent their expertise.

“They fly the SOA banner over their products and integration work, however competent their architecture actually is,” O’Connor said.

The heart and soul of SOA is architecture and the governance of the services, O’Connor said. SOA governance refers to activities and procedures related to exercising control over services in an SOA environment. It features everything a company uses to ensure SOA is done in accordance with best practices, architectural principles, government regulations and pertinent laws.

“SOA helps companies remain competitive by seizing on new trends to modify their business models to deliver superior value to clients,” Padmanabhuni said. Nevertheless, he cautioned that SOA requires customers to put in place effective governance processes and carefully consider charge-back models because development and usage conceivably can be separate.

Governance of an SOA environment demands as much consideration in execution as the architecture itself, said Mike McDermott, sales and marketing manager at solution provider Primitive Logic.

“Clients need a strategic road map that integrates its people, processes, assets and business goals for each stage of the SOA project,” McDermott said. Since clients usually don’t have the resources in-house to create a road map or implement the SOA project, Primitive Logic does it for them.

One such client is ZipRealty, a real estate brokerage that operates in 19 states and Washington, D.C. ZipRealty chose SOA because it needed an affordable and effective interface with three SAAS (software as a service) vendors. ZipRealty also wanted to better manage interactions between in-house systems and various outside vendors, CIO Joe Trifoglio said.

McDermott said the brokerage chose a solution for less than $100,000, built around technology from Cape Clear. After recently completing the first phase—interfacing with Workday’s HR SAAS solution—of a three-phase project, the company already is seeing results.

“We can now scale the organization without adding staff, which we would have had to do before the project,” Trifoglio said. “SOA enabled ZipRealty to reduce staffing in the HR department.”

And this translates to a significant savings in hard dollars, he said. Once all three phases are completed, ZipRealty will save even more through improved business agility and process visibility, he said. Already the company has the ability to track the entire hiring process, from initial candidate contact through getting an employee on board.