From hype to enlightenment

I have been attending SOA (service-oriented architecture) conferences since about 2002. At first they were mainly in geek-speak and were trying to establish what SOA actually was. Presentations were very technical and it was agreed that there was no single definition. Many analyst quotes prevailed and very little practical advice was on offer. Presentations were also mainly by software vendors.

In fact, everyone's slideshow started with “What is SOA?!” Case studies were scarce, as no-one would admit they weren't sure what SOA was, or that they were playing with Web services in their lab (but weren't sure what to do with them), or that they had “bet the farm” on some newfangled SOA software!

Along the way, each year, the picture became less muddy. Case studies and frameworks slowly emerged, and people started talking about governance (a sure sign of maturity). It was agreed that SOA was not a tool or a software package and that there was no instant SOA. SOA was an architectural style, not simply a Web service, and so on...

Now TOGAF (The Open Group Architecture Framework) has an SOA-enhanced approach, everyone is doing SOA, and SOA governance is the hot topic. Some are doing it top-down, others bottom-up or upside-down (and happy with it), others are building “SOA Slices” or working outside-in, but what's important is that SOA seems generally accepted as the new style of architecture to be used where applicable, and not as the proverbial silver bullet. Software vendors are all in the process of packaging their offerings as granular services. SOA has definitely left the hype cycle and is getting down to some serious business.

Whereas SOA conferences were previously attended by only the most technical people, they are now attended by enterprise architects, and yes, even some business people. Progressive CIOs in South Africa are talking about rendering services to business as opposed to technology - further evidence of a service-orientation mind-set.

At the recent (well-attended) ITWeb SOA Conference, it was astounding to feel the sea change; everyone was talking about business instead of IT. If you were a techie who paid your fees to attend this conference, you might have gone home disappointed, as there was more business solution-speak than tech talk on the table. For the first time, the flavour was all about the SOA journey, how hard the SOA road is, how important the small stuff is - but it was also obvious how SOA is beginning to fulfil its promise, in the form of actual real-life projects on these shores.

It is clear that SOA has arrived in SA, at least in banking, government, large utilities, retail and telecoms!

Michael Barnard is senior manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The questions asked by the conference delegates were also of a different nature, showing practical insight and providing further evidence that everyone is doing it. From the delegate list it is clear that SOA has arrived in SA, at least in banking, government, large utilities, retail and telecoms!

Things that were previously talked about as if they were happening to someone else far away in a lab are now being done next door. I took the following insights from the conference:

* The TOGAF SOA enhancements (to the ADM) provide a clear way to deliver SOA using a proven method.
* The TOGAF SOA Sourcebook will be published towards the end of 2008.
* SOA needs governance, but you had better deliver something within three months or you'll lose business buy-in!
* The business case for SOA is still a challenge - the return has a hockey-stick type curve, which is difficult to justify without a medium-term view.
* Sometimes companies need to work bottom-up to get the components in order before they can attempt SOA top-down.
* Don't promise SOA to business until the company is prepared for it!
* The OSIMM (SOA Maturity Model) provides a useful perspective on where companies are on the SOA journey.

In fact, as I left the conference, I found myself wondering whether I had just attended the second-last - or even the last - SOA conference. It seems that SOA has finally left the 'hype' cycle, and is moving up the curve of enlightenment into the mainstream.

It has been a long time coming!

* Michael Barnard is senior manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers.