Selling SOA Goes Beyond Software


Major players discuss implementation strategies more than products


Email    print   
November 15, 2006 —  (Page 1 of 3)
The days are long gone when service-oriented architecture, or SOA, was a topic discussed strictly among geeks.

Recently IBM posted three short animated spots on YouTube describing services as Lego-like building blocks, musical notes and mix-and-match clothing. But the YouTube community wasn’t necessarily smitten by the corporate market-speak.

“I know one thing for sure—[SOA is] tougher than building a house with Legos,” commented one user with a handle of “thewwump.”

If anything is for sure, it’s that momentum may be building for SOA to move permanently beyond IT into the broader business landscape and lexicon. Yet despite the prodigious output of marketing departments, it’s still difficult to discern who has the winning SOA strategies at established vendors such as BEA Systems, IBM, Iona Technologies and Microsoft.

“This is like the early stage of the Tour de France, with lots of vendors bunched up at the beginning of the race,” said Ron Schmelzer, a senior analyst at ZapThink, a consulting firm focusing on SOA. “SOA is in the same category as total quality management, or TQM, Six Sigma and ISO 9000—all of which took several years to gain widespread acceptance in the business community.”

On Oct. 3, IBM made a wide-ranging announcement of four new and 23 enhanced software products, including a new release of WebSphere Business Modeler and new software called WebSphere Registry and Repository related to SOA governance.

However, Sandy Carter, IBM vice president of WebSphere and SOA, certainly seems content with the SOA-isn’t-really-about-software message.

“Yes, we can talk about the WebSphere ESB [enterprise service bus],” said Carter, “but I think the most significant recent announcement has not been about a product or an offering, but rather the whole overarching theme that our customers are really seeing value from SOA.”

IBM, which is also screening an SOA-inspired film in select movie theaters nationwide, is not alone in ginning up SOA marketing messages to sometimes silly levels.




Pages 1 2 3 


Share this link: http://sdt.bz/29794
 
Most Read Latest News Blog Resources

Add comment


Name*
Email*  
Country     


  • Comment
Loading




close
NEXT ARTICLE
SOA Software releases project-planning suite for SOA transition
Portfolio Manager provides a framework for SOA planning, helping developers prioritize services, understand dependencies, and plan architecture and governance processes, the company says. The product is marketed as being essential for creating road maps for transitioning to SOA Read More...
 
 
 
 
News on Monday
more>>
SharePoint Tech Report
more>>


   

 
 

Download Current Issue
FEBRUARY 2012 PDF ISSUE

Need Back Issues?
DOWNLOAD HERE

Want to subscribe?


 
blogs tab
Are you at risk for burnout?
Burnout is a severe problem and it can strike at any time. Here's how to tell if you are nearing the edge.
02/09/2012 02:16 PM EST

Agility, mom, and apple pie
If we're to evaluate the state-of-the-art in software development, we should start with the values espoused in the Agile Manifesto.
02/07/2012 11:57 AM EST

RIM woos developers with free tablet
How do you get more apps ported to the BlackBerry PlayBook? By giving every developer a free tablet, of course!
02/04/2012 01:57 PM EST

GitHire: Use Headhunters to Find Your Perfect Programmer
Are you a hiring manager tired of scouring the job boards? Check out this new service that will find 5 people interested in your jobs.
02/03/2012 12:17 PM EST

Facebook claims hacker cred
Facebook's SEC S-1 filing form includes a short essay on the Hacker Way by Mark Zuckerberg himself.
02/02/2012 08:26 AM EST

Ryan Dahl steps down
Ryan Dahl, creator of Node.js, steps back from his position as gatekeeper for the project.
02/01/2012 04:58 PM EST

 
Events calendar tab
2/13/2012 to 2/16/2012
Santa Clara
TechWeb

2/26/2012 to 2/29/2012
San Francisco
BZ Media

2/27/2012 to 3/2/2012
San Francisco
RSA

3/4/2012 to 3/7/2012
Las Vegas
IBM Tivoli

3/5/2012 to 3/9/2012
San Francisco
TechWeb