[CAnet - news] SOA versus Web 2.0

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[Some excerpts from Jon Hagel's blog. Thanks to a contributor who wishes to
remain anonymous-- BSA]

http://edgeperspectives.typepad.com/edge_perspectives/2006/04/soa_versus_web
_.html

SOA Versus Web 2.0?

As I indicated in my previous posting, a cultural chasm separates these two
technology communities, despite the fact that they both rely heavily on the
same foundational standard - XML. The evangelists for SOA tend to dismiss
Web 2.0 technologies as light-weight "toys" not suitable for the "real" work
of enterprises.  The champions of Web 2.0 technologies, on the other hand,
make fun of the "bloated" standards and architectural drawings generated by
enterprise architects, skeptically asking whether SOAs will ever do real
work.

Both Web 2.0 and SOA technologies re-conceive software as services. Perhaps
even more importantly, they view services as platforms.  Rather than viewing
services as standalone offers designed to be consumed exactly as written,
both sets of technologies start with the vision that the role of any service
is ultimately to become the building block for even more services that will
be built on top of the original service.

Amazon provides an early, and very limited, example of this opportunity.  By
developing an affiliate program and offering a book buying service that can
be embedded into other web sites, Amazon has been able to significantly
expand its reach and create a much more robust platform for driving
e-commerce activity.

The growing appeal of Web 2.0 technologies in part stems from this hijacking
of SOAs.  Line executives within the enterprise are experiencing mounting
frustration over the escalating hype around SOAs, the growing spending over
SOA design initiatives and the relatively limited business impact achieved
by SOA deployments.  In contrast, Web 2.0 initiatives are leading to a
proliferation of mashups (one form of composition), as described by Dion
Hinchcliffe in "The Web 2.0 Mashup Ecosystem Ramps Up" and "Some Predictions
for the Coming 'Mashosphere' "


Does this mean SOAs are DOA? Not at all.  SOAs still provide a valuable
foundation to support the sustained relationships required for distributed
creation.  But these SOAs need to be deployed in a much more incremental and
pragmatic way.  Perhaps a little competition from Web 2.0 technologies will
help to break the logjam and force both IT departments and IT consultants to
adapt their culture and operations to growing business pressure for
accelerated impact and learning.

As JSB and I discuss in much more detail in The Only Sustainable Edge, the
convergence of SOAs, virtualization architectures and Web 2.0 social
software will drive the next wave of value creation within and across
enterprises.  The convergence will not unfold smoothly, as much of the
current debate confirms, but it will take place - there is too much at stake
and each of these technology arenas offers something distinctive in
supporting next generation business platforms.





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These news items and comments are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect
those  of the CANARIE board or management.


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