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activities, chunks of data that offer value to the enterprise through the shar-

ing and reuse of these modular services. In an SOA, services are exposed

using a standards-based interface that abstracts or ‘‘hides’’ its technical im-

plementation from the service consumers. When consumers access the func-

tionality of a service, they do so via its exposed interface using message-

based communications. The service interface, by virtue of its standards-

based construction, offers a simple mechanism for service consumers to ﬁnd

or discover a service, develop a client or access mechanism to the service,

and then begin consuming the service in support of a desired business out-

come. The technical complexity of the implementation is hidden behind the

service interface, which enables a more simpliﬁed model for building ser-

vice-based applications.

SOA offers many business and IT beneﬁts to an organization. From a

business perspective, the following SOA beneﬁts are typically expected:

Business agility

Reduced time to market

Easier to do business with

Reduced technology costs

Right-sized business model based on core and context—can add or sub-

tract service providers easily

From an IT perspective, the following SOA beneﬁts are often targeted:

Reduced software development costs

Reduced software maintenance costs

Reuse of services accelerates application delivery

Reuse of services increases software quality

Allows easier procurement of application software as services

Allows faster IT response to business change

Provides for graceful evolution of IT architecture, which leads to lower

operating costs and total cost of ownership

SOA as a business or IT initiative presents several challenges with

which organizations must contend before they can begin to realize the bene-

ﬁts of SOA. An SOA strategy is a critical requirement. An SOA business

case should be established. An SOA reference model and SOA enterprise

architecture should be created.

First and foremost of these is an actionable SOA strategy. An SOA

strategy is essential to help focus and galvanize organizational efforts, iden-

tify the appropriate uses of SOA for business beneﬁts, and to explicitly

identify the business or mission outcomes desired from investing in an SOA

4 THE SOA GOVERNANCE IMPERATIVE