For Enterprise Architecture Professionals (Length: 17 pages)

May 16, 2008

How To Build Your SOA Platform

To Evolve An SOA Platform, Build From Tactical Needs Toward A Strategic Vision

This is the fourth document in the "Building Your SOA Platform" series.

by Randy Heffner

with John R. Rymer, Kahini Ranade


Executive Summary (This is a document excerpt)

Building an effective service-oriented architecture (SOA) platform requires cohesive integration of both new product categories, such as SOA repositories and enterprise service buses (ESBs), and existing product categories, to which vendors are making many SOA enhancements. A comprehensive SOA platform can require large investments, and few enterprises can afford to build one all at once in a big bang approach. Even for enterprises that can afford a big bang approach, the pace of change in SOA products makes it too risky. At the other extreme, ad hoc purchasing of whatever seems good for each project is a recipe for wasting money and reducing SOA's long-term benefits. The best approach is to place tactical SOA platform investments within a planning framework for evolving a strategic SOA platform. If, along the way, you are able to justify large investments to accelerate your platform build-out, so much the better.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

NOTES & RESOURCES

itemKey Questions For Building An SOA Platform

itemBuild From Your Existing Software Infrastructure And Expand From There

itemSkills And Competency As Decision Criteria

itemStrategies For Acquiring Products

itemSample Paths To Your Strategic SOA Platform

itemSample Path No. 1: Simple Legacy Access

itemSample Path No. 2: External Partner Integration

itemSample Path No. 3: Rich Enterprise Integration

itemReal-World Paths: Pacific Blue Cross And A Major Airline

itemIntegrating Multiple Paths Into A Strategic Plan

itemConverge As Far As Possible, But No Further

itemThe Risks Of A Big Bang Approach

recommendations

itemWork To A Lightweight Strategic Plan; Fill It In With Each Solution Delivery

itemSupplemental Material

Forrester interviewed 13 vendor and user companies, including Accenture, BEA Systems, Credit Suisse Group, EDS, IONA Technologies, MassMutual Life Insurance, Pacific Blue Cross Health Benefits Society, and US Department of the Interior.

Related Research Documents

itemDefining Your SOA Platform Strategy

May 14, 2008

itemWhen To Use Which Type Of SOA Specialty Product

January 29, 2007

itemReal-World SOA: SOA Platform Case Studies

September 15, 2005

Find Documents In Related Categories

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Analyst: Randy Heffner
Technology: Application Development, Architecture & Technology Strategy, Enterprise Architecture, Enterprise Architecture Domains, SOA & Web Services
Geography: Asia Pacific, Europe, North America

Archived Teleconference:
SOA Governance: The Practices That Most Ensure Success
Original air date: Tuesday, September 22, 2009
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