How about that. Sandy said it all. Anne
On 1/8/09, Gervas Douglas <[email protected]> wrote: > Here is an old article, but one no less pertinent today: > > <<You could say that behind every successful service-oriented > architecture is a CEO. With its promise of using existing technology > to more closely align information technology with business goals, SOAs > have proven to help companies realize greater efficiencies, cost > savings and productivity. > > Still, as many IT managers have learned, without executive > endorsement, an SOA will be relegated to the confines of IT as opposed > to being recognized as an organization-wide business strategy. While > no two organizations are exactly alike, there are consistent themes > that arise -- and pitfalls to avoid -- when aiming for approval to > build an SOA. > > For those many IT leaders who are facing the seemingly daunting > challenge of presenting the importance and value of an SOA strategy to > the executive suite, following are ten tips for selling SOA to the CEO. > > 1. Don't call it SOA: explain the value and benefits in business terms > that reflect the organization's goals -- such as cost reduction, > productivity, competitive advantage, etc. -- before diving into a > technical conversation. > > 2. Vision, not version: outline the immediate and long-term results > from this strategy while avoiding discussions about specific version > numbers. > > 3. Build consensus throughout the company: prove the value of SOA > through small test projects conducted with volunteer departments in > the organization. Make sure to include those department leaders when > you later roll out the SOA. > > 4. Start small yet live large: when selecting those small test > projects, choose to integrate and automate those business processes > that can have the most widespread, positive impact across the > organization. > > 5. Ixnay on the TLA: while it's easy to get caught up in the technical > jargon that is fully understood among peers, remember that three > letter acronyms (TLA) can sound as eloquent as pig Latin when trying > to convince your CEO of a major new strategic undertaking. > > 6. Get to the powerful points: without relying on complex slides that > can deter from the true purpose of the meeting. > > 7. Conviction and prediction: articulate goals for each step along the > SOA path. By publicly stating and achieving realistic goals for the > organization based on an SOA -- increasing productivity or decreasing > costs by XX percent -- you can bolster confidence in the project and > overall strategy. > > 8. Reference third party validation: cite analyst data on the growth > and adoption of service oriented architectures and point to relevant > SOA success stories within your industry (and by your competitors). > > 9. The close: SOA what? Outline specific before-and-after scenarios of > the impact of SOA on your particular organization to help disarm any > naysayer and gain CEO approval. > > 10. Qualify and quantify: set goals, track performance and refine > methodologies at every step along the way. Be sure to share the > results with interested parties on a regular basis to demonstrate the > success of your company's SOA journey. > > The opportunity to evangelize SOA to company executives is rare. To > make the most of your extended elevator pitch, remember to articulate > business benefits, reiterate bottom line results and illustrate the > company-wide value of an SOA.>> > > You can read this at: > > http://searchsoa.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid26_gci1240058,00.html?track=NL-130&ad=683258&Offer=SOAunsc107ov&asrc=EM_USC_5513516&uid=5532089 > > Gervas > >
