Service-oriented architecture (SOA) is a software architecture that describes the use of software services to support the requirements of business processes and software users. 2006 was called the year of governance by those in the industry familiar with the concept. Two of its major experts join Phil and Scott to discuss it in detail. Todd Biske and Ed Vazquez work for MomentumSI, a company devoted to providing service oriented enterprise consulting to organizations.
Todd and Ed first review the concept, elaborating on the various levels of the process. The main purpose of governance is to create a framework of accountability for the organization, requiring the adoption of written policies that help to define what is important and how services fit in. Since services often have both external and internal uses, it is important to avoid the chaos that can happen without successful implementation.
In addition to giving some examples of thriving companies that used the strategy, the group also review the problems involved with adopting procedures without education, good documentation, or useful feedback. The conversation is enlightening about the importance of creating good policies, as well as communicating them and enforcing them.
Todd Biske is an Enterprise Architect with MomentumSI, a leader in SOA Consulting. He has been an active blogger on SOA, Enterprise Architecture, IT Governance and other topics "outside the box" since late 2005. He has spoken at Burton Group's Catalyst conference, InfoWorld's SOA Executive Forum, and IQPC's Conference on SOA and Web Services, and has recorded a podcast on Service Lifecycle Management with ZapThink.
Prior to joining MomentumSI in October of 2006, Todd was the SOA and Integration Technology Architect for A.G. Edwards in St. Louis. He led their SOA adoption efforts since 2003, including infrastructure buildout, and the formation of an SOA Competency Center. Prior to that role, he was involved with their adoption of J2EE technologies and the development of their external web site. He represented A.G. Edwards on the OASIS SOA Adoption Blueprint Technical Committee, and is a member of SOA Leaders and the International Association of Software Architects. Besides SOA, Todd has interests in usability and human-computer interaction, and holds a MS in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Ed Vazquez leads the Enterprise Transformation Practice for MomentumSI. In his more than a decade of Web Application Management (including six years of SOA and Web Service Implementation Management), Ed has led major programs to transform enterprise Business and IT organizations with Sprint, Pfizer, and other companies. Prior to focusing on Enterprise Transformation and Innovation, Ed developed significant subject matter expertise in the SOA Lifecycle, SOA Governance, and Business Driven SOA. Ed graduated with both his Masters Degree and Bachelors Degree from the University of Kansas.
Co-host Scott C. Lemon is CTO of MediaForge - a next generation viral marketing and web enhancement company - and founder of HumanXtensions - an Internet R&D company. Scott's recent history in the computer industry include several small start-ups, along with being Chief Technologist at SCO, Chief Strategist at Vultus, and holding numerous positions during his four tours of duty at Novell. Scott's expertise ranges from computer and wireless hardware technologies, to networking and distributed software applications. As a futurist studying the patterns of evolution, his past experiences in operating systems - CP/M, DOS, Windows, OS/2, NetWare, UNIX, Linux and others - is allowing him to explore the new levels of abstractions provided by the Internet.
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