--- In [email protected], "Anne Thomas Manes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Kirstan said: > > > Is there something else you would add to the list besides agility? > > How about "cost efficiencies for a particular desired strategic, > > long term outcome"? The goals of SOA should give a company a high > > level idea of whether they are interested in pusuing it. e.g. if > > you don't need agility, as some businesses don't, then don't bother > > with an SOA initiative. This oversimplifies, but on the other hand, > > if we don't agree on the goals of SOA, then any vendor of any > > product or service will make a case that a prospect needs SOA. And > > of course, this is what has been happening. > > I contend that each organization must identify its own goals for its > SOA initiative. Those goals should be established based on business > needs, and the goals should drive the direction of the initiative. > Non-specific goals such as "increase agility and reduce costs" aren't > particularly useful because they are so difficult to measure. > > A SOA initiative should focus on business outcomes. What can you do > that will deliver measurable benefits that the business will > appreciate? > > Example deliverables include: > - better quality data > - improved operational efficiency > - optimization of complex business processes > - simplification of B2B processes > - channel consolidation > - single view of the customer > - more consistent enforcement of policy > - better visibility into processes for compliance requirements > - reduced redundancy in the application and/or data portfolio > > Anne
What I struggle with in this instance, is answering the question, "why would I want to pursue an SOA, and how would I justify the costs?". I'm sure its a multi-layered answer. But Anne, it seems we could generalize a little bit, as a summary of improvements SOA could bring to a typical enterprise. -Kirstan
