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Service-oriented architecture (SOA) is the most talked about trend in the software industry today. Not a product or a single technology, SOA is an approach to software development and deployment that, while not entirely new, has gained momentum in recent years.
In a nutshell, SOA promises to help companies increase business agility and reduce the ine ciencies associated with upgrading and extending software. In the context of enterprise software, a SOA can help add new life to existing systems as well as enable the quick introduction of new functionality or services to support new business goals.
While almost every enterprise software provider touts business agility as an advantage of their SOA approach, the manner in which they help companies attain this bene t varies widely. One approach is based on next-generation platforms, which require large investments in middleware infrastructure and, often, re-implementations of core applications.
Infor's approach to SOA-Infor Open SOA-is different. Our customers told us that they wanted solutions with built-in capabilities that provide the bene ts of SOA, but without the complexities and high costs. In this whitepaper, we discuss how Infor Open SOA differs greatly from the approach other software vendors are taking by making it far easier and more cost-effective to achieve the business agility and IT exibility promised by SOA.
What is SOA?
SOA is an architectural approach to building and deploying software that is interoperable by design. In a SOA, software capabilities can be connected to one another easily, enabling the e cient movement of information between applications. SOA supports the effective reuse of software, so companies can leverage the assets they already have to solve new and emerging business problems.
To help companies keep pace with fast-changing business requirements, SOA makes it possible to model and con gure software assets to address new requirements without the need for developing new software code. The result is a more cost-effective software environment in which the employees who are closest to a problem are empowered to change solution capabilities to meet specific new requirements.
In addition, the SOA approach enables the decoupling of software so components can be implemented and maintained independently of other solutions and components. As a result, activities such as applying upgrades, running backups, and introducing new functionality can be performed on only the applicable software component without impacting other parts of the enterprise software infrastructure. This contrasts with large, monolithic software packages where minor changes to narrowly focused business processes can a ect the entire enterprise solution.
From a technology perspective, a successful SOA implementation will produce greater IT exibility. By improving the e ciency of software upgrades, integration, and customization, a lower total cost of ownership for IT can be achieved. Bene ts extend beyond cost savings because the improved IT exibility enhances a company's overall business agility. As upgrading, integrating, and customizing software gets faster, easier, and less costly, companies can better con gure new business processes in response to changing business requirements.
Infor Open SOA commitment
In canvassing customers to determine how Infor could best meet their long-term needs, a clear majority said they wanted solutions that would increase their business agility and IT exibility without forcing them to replace existing software and hardware that hadn't reached the end of its lifecycle. They wanted solutions that solved their industry and business-specific problems, not merely technology platforms and development kits. And in most instances, they didn't specifically ask for a SOA strategy, even though the business value they were seeking was consistent with what SOA has to offer.
Based on this research, we have identi ed what we believe are the top customer requirements:
- Increased business exibility and agility
- Solutions rather than complex, costly middleware platforms
- SOA built in versus long-horizon, do-it-yourself projects
- Support and protection of their long-term investment horizon
- Product roadmaps without re-implementation requirements
- Coexistence with existing products and technologies
As a result of this customer input and our analysis, we developed Infor Open SOA, the company's commitment to solution interoperability, innovation, and evolution across all product lines. Infor Open SOA is truly a customer-driven approach to SOA and differs in many ways from the approach to SOA taken by most software vendors. There are three key objectives in Infor Open SOA.
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