Previously on this blog, we have touched on the controversial statement made by Anne Thomas Manes of the Burton Group that stated that “SOA is dead.” CIO.com revisited this topic in this story titled, “SOA is Not Dead: 5 Key Lessons From Early Adopters.” Info-Tech Research released a report discussing 5 key themes they observed from interviews with IT leaders that have successfully adopted SOA. The key themes are:

1. IT leaders must see SOA as a business opportunity.

2. External guidance is invaluable.

3. Don’t make buying software the focus of an SOA initiative.

4. The benefit of a SOA won’t be reaped immediately.

5. Prioritize service quality over quantity.

The first theme is particularly interesting, as in any IT project, you need the support of your leadership for a project to really make an impact in your organization. Metastorm has a whitepaper titled, “Building a Case for BPM,” where some of the same tips and principles can be applied to gain support for a SOA initiative. For example, goals and metrics should be defined at the beginning stages. You cannot improve what you cannot measure, so clearly defined metrics and success criteria are essential to the business case and the success of the overall IT initiative.

To read more about a successful SOA case study, click here.

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