SOA - dead or alive?

I just read this article on the reg and I think they have nailed the reason why SOA isn't catching on in the UK.

So what is your opinion?

Do you actually care? Is SOA just a load of old garbage that Architects and Vendors talk about a lot.

... or ...

Yes you do care because sound architectural practices are more than valid but packaging it up and branding it is going to kill it?

... or ...

I know what SOA is ... erm ... I'm sure but can you run that past me again

... or ...

Hell yeah baby, I'm a SOA expert!


... or ...

You've been involved in a successful SOA project and it's great!

...


Anyway, let me know what you think even if you don't know what I'm talking about, then just say, thats just fine.

The SOA debate is important to me because it's effectively a major part of my role and if it's not working for you then I would be really interested in knowing you opinion.

Does Channel 8, 9 & 10 use SOA guys?

I know what SOA is ... erm ... I'm sure but can you run that past me again  



We had an RFQ a while back that was with a very large consulting firm. I did my best to read and somewhat understand terminology. The firm was huge on SOA but they also had the software to sell for it. So I quickly learned that pushing SOA has a huge $$$ benefit for vendors. They of course had the big architect who wanted everthing to be SOA thus making things complex thus driving up $$$.

To me I think SOA drives simplicity to complexity. I also thing every vendor has their own definition of SOA that you have to learn.

So in summary its not up to me on whether or not I adopt it but my current opinion is that it is too complex for most customers and not a value add based on cost.

In Dutch, SOA is short for "Sexueel Overdraagbare Aandoening", which means "Sexually Transmitted Disease".

Sven, that makes the phrase "I've been in a successful SOA project and it's great!" sound a bit awkward.

SOA is Alive and Well..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOQcjvUHZ0k  (3min 5 sec)

(SOA This... SOA That...)

Yes you do care because sound architectural practices (in some circumstances) are more than valid but packaging it up and branding it is going to kill it?

I've amended your suggestion

SOA are nothing new, I wonder why some feel there is a need to brand it to death.  As an acronym it will eventually become meaningless as its original meaning is diluted.

Given the state(lessness) of Services and the lack of any intuitive way to debug the stuff, developers just don't do it very well.  The concept requires the developer to have a 'bigger picture' view of the application, and frankly, most developers are too narrow sighted to handle the concept.

And, that sucks, because the concept is great and the few implementations I've worked with have come really, really close.

The thing is, you still can't depend on the net as a reliable backbone for a business.  I get a better, more reliable connection at my house than I do in an organization that serves 10s of thousands of people.  Software and hardware have become so complicated that most people just accept glitches/bugs/errors/whatever as part of the process.