The Business Case for SOA: Rationalizing the Benefits of Service-Oriented Architecture

The Business Case for SOA
Rationalizing the Benefits of
Service-Oriented Architecture

January 2005
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TU UTINTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 4 TU UTTHE PROMISE OF SOA ............................................................................................................ 5 TU UTSOA CONCEPTS .................................................................................................................. 5 TU UTSOA BENEFITS .................................................................................................................... 6 TU UTReuse: Accelerated Implementation, Lower Effort And Risk ......................................... 6 TU UTComposite Applications: Unique Solutions To Empower Users .................................... 7 TU UTLoosely-Coupled: Greater Flexibility, Increased Implementation Agility ........................ 8 TU UTESTABLISHING AN SOA IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY ................................................. 10 TU UTTHE NEED FOR SOA INFRASTRUCTURE .............................................................................. 11 TU UTJUSTIFYING THE INVESTMENT IN SOA .............................................................................. 12 TU UTCONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 13
©2005 webMethods, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 3
INTRODUCTION
One of the most significant IT initiatives underway is the adoption of service-oriented architecture (SOA), where IT assets are aligned to business services in a standard, flexible and architected fashion. The concept is often discussed in conjunction with Web services, though the two are not synonymous. In fact, SOA predates Web services by many years, but it is only now that SOA has hit the headlines. This is due in part to the fact that Web services have been a useful development that makes it much easier to deploy an SOA.
The promise of SOA is that it can transform the IT assets of a business, making it possible to do more with less, and faster. It is a key development towards the goal of a truly agile business where new business initiatives can be deployed as needed-with the necessary underlying IT support-with minimal delay. But there is also a concern in many CIOs' minds that SOA is a radical new form of s... [download for more]