(SOA) is a business-centric IT architectural approach that supports integrating your business as linked, repeatable business tasks, or services. With the Smart SOA approach, you can find value at every stage of the SOA continuum, from departmental projects to enterprise-wide initiatives.
SOA is best approached as individual projects - each of which bring your business greater flexibility and service orientation. Successful SOA adoption is done incrementally stressing the importance of starting small, and scaling appropriately. IBM can help you identify what SOA projects make the most sense for you. For example, we have a brochure called "Five SOA projects that can pay for themselves in six months". Regardless of whether you're looking to SOA for an enterprise-level project, a tactical technology-level project or something in between, IBM can help you lay out a roadmap that makes sense for you. We have workshops available free of charge which can bring together IBM's SOA architects and subject matter experts and your IT staff to help find projects to boost your business flexibility with quick financial return. Send a note to soa@us.ibm.com for more information.To get started quickly with SOA, you need to select an initial project that focuses on a particular business opportunity that can be completed in a reasonably short timeframe. The SOA Entry points (PDF, 438KB) are project areas that have been shown to provide business value in a timely manner. Each Entry Point provides a key SOA related solution:
People - collaboration improving productivity by giving employees and partners the ability to create a personalized, consolidated way to interact with others.
Process - optimize and deploy processes on the fly and monitor the effectiveness of the altered processes.
Information - improve business insight and reduce risk by using trusted information services delivered in line and in context.
Reuse - newly created and reusable services are the building blocks of SOA. Reuse gives users flexibility through reduced cycle time and elimination of duplicate processes.
Connectivity - although, in the past, connectivity has been a requirement, SOA brings new levels of flexibility to these linkages. The connectivity provided by SOA has distinct value on its own and as a building block for additional SOA initiatives.
