Enterprise Content Management and Service Oriented Architecture

SOA Articles : Enterprise Content Management and Service Oriented Architecture

Visualize the following scenario: All enterprise content (wherever generated by whatever entity) goes into a single repository and users can receive different services (that they were receiving from different applications earlier, or are completely new services) from an integrated system with a standard front end. Service Oriented Architecture, Enterprise Application Integration, and Data Warehousing work to make this scenario a reality.

Data warehouses, unlike transactional databases, are designed to facilitate querying and analysis. They are separated from transactional databases so that the latter are not burdened with query/analysis processing requests. These kinds of requests tend to use the processing resources, slowing down transaction processing response times.

Enterprise Application Integration seeks to integrate the different applications to eliminate duplication of both content and processing operations.

This article explores how Service Oriented Architecture works.

The Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)

This style of architecture groups functionalities into specific service groups. The services are provided to manage business processes that support an organization's business.

The enterprise-wide system is structured as a collection of standard services that different applications used by employees, suppliers, and customers need. These different applications might even be working on different platforms and coded in different programming languages. Each service is designed to work with any application that calls it, and would not know which application would call it. Its role is to provide a defined service in a standard way to whatever application calls for it.

The pool of services can be configured to create new applications if needed. This kind of architecture adds flexibility and quicker deployment to content management systems.

Available services are listed in a service registry that can be looked up by applications for calling the service they need. The services would come with any attached security requirements appropriate to the service.

In an ideal system, one service or another would cater to every kind of information management need, and there would be a standard look and feel for the interface. Additionally, information management would be customizable to the requirements of the organization's business processes.

Internet Protocols and SOA

Internet Protocols work independent of platforms and programming languages and work on the service request and delivery model. For example, a user client might request a certain document and the server complies with the request by retrieving the document and sending it to the client.

This makes the web-services approach a good Service Oriented Architectural approach. You can make your existing applications web enabled to start building a SOA system.

All services are described in XML documents that are independent of platforms, and written in Web Services Description Language (WSDL). An XML schema enables communication among the services.

A web service is not the only technology that can be used by SOA. SOA is an architecture that can be implemented using different technologies.

Conclusion

Service Oriented Architecture makes it possible to convert even legacy applications into services that any application can call. By configuring the services to cater to all kinds of information management needs, and tailoring the information management to the requirements of the particular business, you get to use enterprise knowledge to gain real control over business processes. This is what Enterprise Content Management systems seek to achieve.

Source: Service Oriented Architecture SOA information at articlesbase.com

Six Sigma and Service Oriented Architecture - The Better Pair

SOA Articles : Six Sigma and Service Oriented Architecture - The Better Pair

At the came time, SOA also takes care that both of these factors that are responsible for better productivity are available within the organization itself. However, one aspect that business must not miss out on is that by advocating SOA alone, nothing can be achieved. This means that simply a standalone technique is not going to do any good to the company.

Therefore, it is important that SOA is combined with an improvement tool so that the company can get the maximum benefits. The Six Sigma methodology is probably the best option available in this respect.

The Consolidation Method

In order to understand how the consolidation process works, it is important to understand SOA. SOA is in charge of handling planning, analyzing and coming up with new concept based services which work according to the goals and other mission objectives that have been defined during the implementation stage. This is one of the main reasons why Service Oriented Architecture largely is influenced by the management decisions, especially during the implementation process.

This clearly points out towards the fact that SOA alone is not all that sufficient when it comes to performing quality checks. This also means that SOA clearly needs to be combined with a quality improvement technique, which in this case would by the implementation of Six Sigma. Using a Six Sigma methodology like DFSS (i.e., Design For Six Sigma), although somewhat untraditional to use along with Service Oriented Architecture, could still help since it takes care of decisions related to the formulation of the plan for introducing new services in the market.

This is achieved with the help of a more practical approach and the available statistics and other relevant data.

Below are the five phases of Service Oriented Architecture:

Definition stage: This is where the Design For Six Sigma comes in, with respect to defining the objectives of the Service Oriented Architecture - especially during the implementation stage of the project. By adopting the DFSS methodology, it becomes relatively easier to curb any chance of project redundancies.

Developing the Concept: During this stage, DFSS simply helps the developers with regards to formulating and coming up with a design as a part of their innovation strategy. This is obviously achieved due to the financial as well as the human resources available at hand. If DFSS is absent in this stage, the developers will surely delay the implementation of the project.

Design Stage: This is an important stage, since it helps staff in realizing the reason and the importance of the redesigning of the company's processes so that the business can assure better productivity - and of course, overall customer satisfaction.

Validation stage: In order to gain complete control over the feasibility of the entire project, it is important that companies comply with the validation stage, which is already designed by the Design For Six Sigma methodology. Once the test proves to be a success, the implementation stage can be carried on in the different processes of the organization.

Control Stage: This is a stage where DFSS steps into the picture, in order to ensure that everything is going according to plan with the help of SOA.

There is no doubt that SOA can be beneficial, but only if combined with the Six Sigma methodology. Once both of them are paired up, organizations will become much more effective and consistent in their business activities.

Source: Service Oriented Architecture SOA information at articlesbase.com

Can you go from EAI to SOA?

SOA Service Oriented Architecture Articles : Can you go from EAI to SOA?

I pointed out before that there are really two camps: SOA Old School and SOA New School, and there seems to be a chasm between the two that keeps growing.

"Old School SOA vendors are those with 'legacy' integration or application development solutions that 'SOA-tized' their stuff, basically adding Web services interfaces, enhanced security, etc.," I said.

In fact many are finding that the "traditional technology" is coming up short when you consider the new complexities of SOA. I think that SOA is being defined by the marketing machines in the well-funded upstarts, and the older guys are finding that they are being made obsolete. No matter if it's perception, or reality. In the world of SOA, it really does not seem to matter right now. The hype cycle is raging.

However, there are product pattern differences that are causing issues as well. Here are a few that I've noted, generally speaking:

• Older products are more information-oriented and don't consider the notion of a service within the product at the management, development, and repository levels -- it seems to be an afterthought.
• The process or orchestration technologies delivered with the older integration technologies are not innate, but seem to be loosely coupled. Perhaps in many cases it is "architecture through acquisition."
• They are "enterprisy" and don't consider services outside of the firewall when building an SOA, nor have facilities to leverage mashups.
• They are leveraging out-of-date standards that are just no longer interesting, nor work well in the context of an SOA. I already pointed out the issues around J2EE in my last blog.

The existing customer use cases are more about information replication adhering to a loosely defined process, and not about architecture agility or the ability to drive integration around service abstraction.

So, is this a trend? Are the older integration guys with old products, thousands of customers, and yes, gulp, profits, able to keep up with the young Turks who seem to be defining the market now? Tough to say, but it does not look good when considering the current set of events, including a growing market and declining or slow-growing sales with a few of the players.

Clearly, their stuff works and is proven. They just need some strategy alignment and product changes. Been there, done that, have the T-shirt. It's not easy.

Source: SOA Service Oriented Architecture information at infoworld.com

More bad press for CIOs and SOA

SOA Service Oriented Architecture Articles : More bad press for CIOs and SOA

CIOs have been taking some bashing recently, including a recent post by Joe McKendrick sighting a recent Software AG report:

"CIOs seem to be missing in action when it comes to getting involved in SOA. Only 18% of companies participating in a new survey, sponsored by Software AG, report their CIO's office plays a role in their SOA steering committee. This 'may suggest that SOA isn't viewed as strategically within IT as many have been led to believe.'

Plus, this lack of CIO involvement 'suggests that achieving SOA's goal of improving IT's alignment with the business may be difficult as the individual most responsible for this activity, the CIO, is not actively involved with their enterprise's SOA initiatives.'"

As I covered before in my post "Should you fire your CIO?" many CIOs are really hindering SOA progress, and a new CIO with a more progressive agenda can make all of the difference. The issue is, typically, CIOs may view SOA as a "technical thing" and "tactical," and thus don't attend those meetings. In many cases I view this as the fault of the project leaders who, as we covered before, have a tendency to view SOA as a technical, not an architectural, problem.

However, this really shines a bright light on the issues around SOA, and perhaps architecture in general, pertaining to these issues not being high on the priority list within some organizations. However, solving tactical problems sure is, and they continue to layer on the applications and hardware without a lot of forethought as to how these applications work and play well together within the context of architecture.

Hopefully the CEO is taking notice, and will redirect efforts for more strategic purposes.

Source: SOA Service Oriented Architecture information at infoworld.com

Leadership + Talent = Working SOA

SOA Service Oriented Architecture Articles : Leadership + Talent = Working SOA

Recently there has been a lot of talk about what it takes to make SOA work. While many are inclined to point to technology, the reality is that leadership and talent are the underlying critical success factors around a working SOA. Checking out Joe McKendrick's blog on this topic, I found a few key paragraphs that got down to this issue, including one that cited InfoWorld's own Eric Knorr.

"Eric Knorr, editor at InfoWorld, noted that successful SOA efforts he's seen are usually driven by a 'visionary' type. Eric noted that 'in case study after case study, you run into a chief architect, or even a chief technology officer sometimes, who has really made that connection, in an SOA context, between not only looking at the business processes, but breaking them down into business services and figuring out how to map a technical infrastructure against that. That leadership is so important, because SOA is such an elusive concept that it's very easy to fall back into the old habits of enterprise application integration (EAI), and thinking in terms of point-to-point integration and not thinking in terms about the last presentation, that strategic value."

Best case made so far on this topic.

Thus, as we've been saying, this is a people not a technology issue. We need to get clear around the resources we'll need to drive the changes, and it may not be the existing leadership and staff. Like major surgery, change requires some pain, but it can save your life, or in this case the company.

Clearly we are at a crossroads in the world of enterprise architecture. Some Global 2000 enterprises are driving architectures that are so inefficient that critical business decisions are being delayed or altered to work around the limitations of the infrastructure. Indeed, how many times have you heard that things will take years and not months, sighting past mistakes and the complexities of the layers upon layers of technology built up over the years?

While we understand the existing issues, perhaps too clearly, the solution is to put your faith into a "visionary" who also understand how to get things done, and is empowered to do so. You'll find an initial upheaval, and a lot of pushback from the rank-and-file, but once everyone sees the results, the objections will fall by the wayside. Moreover, you need talented individuals to work with the leader, people who can also see the vision and get things done.

Source: SOA Service Oriented Architecture information at infoworld.com

Web 2.0 Marketing

Web 2.0 and SOA Service Oriented Architecture Articles : Web 2.0 Marketing by Walter Scheu

Web 2.0 Marketing
There seems to be a new blog or social networking site everywhere you go online these days. This is because we have entered the interactive era of the Internet - Web 2.0. Social Networking sites are providing people with an interesting and dynamic place to spend their time online. Rather than be drawn in by big corporate websites, people prefer to visit individuals blogs to hear, exchange and influence opinions of other "average Joes's". Today's online world places a vital importance on original and up to date content and opens up a unique opportunity for the opinion of the individual to be heard by people from all over the world. Web 2.0 is understandably the big buzz word with Internet marketers who make their living online by observing, understanding and exploiting the popular aspects of the Internet's usage.

The Internet has become increasingly focussed on the provision of content, and it's important that anyone interested in the development of Web 2.0 understands that. Sites such as Wikipedia have become a vital information source for people researching online, and all this regardless of common complaints against the site such as it's inaccuracy or incompleteness on some subjects. No longer is the Internet a place for static content, it has become a dynamic place where visitors are encouraged to share opinions and information. The visitors to websites not only visit for the content a website contains - they help provide it.

Web 2.0 has led to a direct shift in marketing strategies. Todays consumer is less likely to be driven by a catchy jingle or creative ad idea. They are looking for real information and feedback on the products they are considering buying. Press releases, blogs, forum postings and consumer reviews all form a part of the buying process and help the potential customer to form his own opinion of the worth of the product. Content from multiple sources is becoming increasingly more important than a clever creative concept.

A number of blogs will talk about developments in any particular industry, and the blogs, and the interaction between them are a perfect example of how Web 2.0 works. The blogs aim to increase product sales indirectly, by increasing the awareness of the product, and by raising the perception that a product is a need rather than a want. Consumers are becoming more likely to respond positively to the human element of a podcast than the more obvious and direct sales messages seen in traditional media such as Television and Radio. They are likely to inform themselves about a product by searching for press releases rather than rely on a salesman's pitch. They will check other buyers views through reviews and online discussions rather than buy uninformed. Advertisers are aware of all this and are now able to target ads to the content of web sites or searches to put their ads in front of the people most likely to buy from them.

Open source led to the prominence of Web 2.0, creating an environment which is very informative and addictive for the end user, but also makes marketing an entirely different proposition. The increased demand for fresh content means that blogs, web pages and even ads need to be kept as current as possible. Marketing teams now have to establish themselves as a productive member of a community and not only provide content, but be aware of the content being provided by others in the group. Marketing in this fashion is a long term commitment and can involve resisting natural temptations to bite at bait offered up by more disruptive community members.

About the Author
Walter Scheu Sr. Th. D. writes article reviews for and about products and/or services etc., which may be seen on the internet. He and his bride run a small family farm in North Carolina. This article is about a affiliate marketing and how they did it, and he knows these tips work well! Hopefully you have found this article informative as well as interesting and desire more information. Please click this link: http://the-winning-affiliate-marketer.com

Source: Web 2.0 SOA service oriented architecture at goarticles.com

Web 2.0 for Search Engine Ranking Results: Real Proof!

Web 2.0 and SOA Service Oriented Architecture Articles : Web 2.0 for Search Engine Ranking Results: Real Proof! by Paul Easton


There is a lot of buzz online around web 2.0 especially around how webmasters can get fast results on search engines. Rather than contribute to the buzz, lets look into it closer and explain.
Web 2.0 is a really big topic, and in short, it means the move from static webpages- just text and images to interactivity, visitor contribution and the rise of video. These are all great ideas as it creates personal ownership, in the form of being able to voice and opinion in a subject.

Now what does this mean to * Your * business, after all that's what really counts ;)

Lets look at one area - Blogging

A blog is simple to use way of putting your own content up on line. It requires no knowledge to write articles and post them up on a site (if you are advanced, and have a blog already the real information is coming ;)

Blogs or weblogs have been put forward as the "quick free fix" for getting top rankings. The most professional blogging system is one called wordpress. Its free and has a load of support.

Now bloggers themselves are a weird bunch, and they are very 2.0 aimed and, most of the time not very business focused, more out just to make a few bucks online. However, creating a blog to use to drive traffic to your own site, and increase search engine traffic is something to definitely include in your plans.

Here is a few things to keep in mind:

1. Content - Blogs are a content tool, they are used to provide information to the user give valuable information (sometimes they cross over into opinion)

2. Time- they take time and consistent effort to contribute to get started and maintain

3. Integration -They need to integrate with your marketing plan which means, not just search engine ranking, but lead generation (collecting email addressees and first names) and can be a good form of pre - selling your future customers.

4. Outside Influence- Blogs will still need outside influence in the form of links to get traffic.

The wordpress free program is great however most bloggers do not set the site up to be 100% search engine friendly.

I will use my partners site which has had very little work done on it but is getting results. We started with the keyword research and settled on a core keyword of "Home Organizing" and secondary keywords of "home organizing ideas" and "home organizing tips"

We bought the domain: CompleteHomeOrganizing.com - The specific domain name achieves 3 goals:

1. Keyword Friendly - Has main keywords in the domain

2. Professional - it provides a professional appearance

3. Focused- it hasn't tried to be everything to everybody- specific needs....

We then set a plan of creating content, which went something like this:

1. Tuesday- create a 400-600 word article on a subject around organizing (bathroom organizing etc) around 30 minutes time required - first draft version only

2. Wed - Proof read article (30 minutes)

3. Thursday- Post article to site (10 minutes)

4. Friday- Create 3 new versions of article for distribution (30 minutes)

5. Friday- Promote article

The time commitment is small and can be applied consistently. The reason for the different versions of the articles, is to avoid the duplicate content problem online.

It is said that the same article, duplicated on several sites, will not count towards your site.

This has never been proven, however another reason, which is just as important. Having a different version of an article allows for a different density of the keyword to be available. Different versions allow you to also to approach the subject from slightly different angles.

Now because the site collects leads, the first part of the promotion is to let the subscribers, who have agreed to you sending them more information that a new article is posted.

You can send just a short message and title of the article, or part of the article, to encourage visitors. Remember education, information....not a pure sales pitch.

We then promote the article out to several article directories. We did this over a period of 3 months, but started to get results after 60 days. This is the * ONLY * promotion we have done (more is planned). And it has resulted in several top 20 rankings.

So around the rave of 2.0 there are ways to leverage it into your online business without becoming a total web geek. The concepts that work, just the technology involved.

About the Author
Paul Easton is a self confessed online marketing nut - who helps from an "in the trenches, doing it" point of view. Search engines and linking for long term traffic a speciality. Get a Plan for free web Traffic here: http://www.SEOTrainingLive.com/


Source: Web 2.0 SOA service oriented architecture information at goarticles.com