<<So rather than as an end in itself, perhaps a better way to think of SOA is as one of a number of techniques to be applied to achieve transformation. For example, we may apply SOA techniques to only limited parts of an application environment but to achieve a type of transformation that would otherwise not be possible. So, one could say that SOA principles and technologies may enable us to think of IT systems and transformation tactics differently than we have before. Some of the characteristics of these transformed systems can also enable us to think of business organizational structures and business transformation differently than we have before.
Aspects of Business Transformation In thinking about business transformation there are opportunities for business process improvements that can be brought about by the separation of business process operations from the back end business applications in which they have been historically embedded. The use of SOA techniques and technologies allows these often volatile processes to be moved out of the code of the applications and into an external BPM layer. In effect moving them into a technology layer means it is easier to manage their complexity and dynamism, than if they had been written in the programming languages normally used for business applications. But there are other more intriguing possibilities for business transformation that can be enabled by these techniques. These revolve around the premise that, in the future, the boundaries and activities that typically define any type of business are likely to change. This is an example of the network effect and stems from the reality that most businesses find it increasingly difficult to perform well in all of the areas that historically defined their business. And if you can't perform a task with market differentiating quality, then it may be better to look at entering into collaborative arrangements with others who can. This results in a kind of restructuring of the value chain and a rethink of the roles that organizations perform. This strategy is of course common place in other industries today. To do this however requires a degree of agility not always available in financial services companies. Agility in this sense implies the ability to move business processes or parts of business processes around different locations either within existing corporate boundaries or across them in collaborations with business partners. For example, a financial services company may wish to locate part of its new business process relating to employee benefits products within an employer's HR operation. Similarly, different aspects of servicing activities may be performed by distributors or consumers depending on the capabilities and agreements with each. Certain common activities may be centralized in a single `location' and shared with multiple operating units. This requires the ability to rapidly decompose and recompose the organization into different combinations. To achieve this requires a kind of componentization of the business itself.>> You can read this at: http://www.soa-world.com/FeatureRO.asp?FeatureId=195 Gervas Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/service-orientated-architecture/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
