Understanding Enterprise SOA
Virtually every major corporation has embraced Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), the new technology that takes advantage of such open computing standards as XML to reduce the cost and complexity of connecting software programs with one another.
Up to now, the business world has been subjected to hype-prone messages about Service Oriented Architecture SOA from IT vendors who claim that it is an easy fix to the classic problem of interoperation between systems. Just released by Manning, Understanding Enterprise SOA Service Oriented Architecture clears the air by providing a vendor-neutral approach to teaching the core technologies and their interdependencies in plain English.
Written in a comfortable, mentoring style by two industry insiders, the book draws conclusions from real business experiences in diverse industries, from manufacturing to genome research. The authors first explain the core Service Oriented Architecture SOA technologies involved in realizing an enterprise SOA and then go on to explain the critical human factors involved in their deployment. Using a fictional insurance company with real-life challenges, they demonstrate how to develop and implement a successful SOA.
Understanding Enterprise SOA Service Oriented Architecture shows how enterprise SOA changes the terrain of EAI, B2B commerce, business process management, real-time operations, and enterprise software development in general. This book is necessary reading for business people and technologists involved in or planning an SOA implementation. It cuts through vendor hype and teaches what it really takes to get SOA Service Oriented Architecture to work.
About the Authors...
Eric Pulier is a pioneer in the software and digital interactive industries. Eric has helped establish cutting-edge technology companies in media management, professional services, voice systems, and peer-to-peer networking. Hugh Taylor is an SOA marketing executive who writes, teaches, and promotes the business value of Service Oriented Architecture SOA and Web services to major companies. The authors live in Los Angeles, California.
25 August 2007
Understanding Enterprise SOA
Understanding Enterprise SOA: SOA for enterprise application integration
Understanding Enterprise SOA: SOA for enterprise application integration
Written by Eric Pulier and Hugh Taylor with forward by Paul Gaffney and reproduced from "Understanding Enterprise SOA" by permission of Manning Publications Co. ISBN 1932394591, copyright 2005. All rights reserved. See http://www.manning.com
The following excerpt continues to look at the IT and management issues at Titan Insurance, a fictitious business that the book uses as a case study in Service-Oriented Architecture. The excerpt refers to "Jay," who is an employee of Titan's IT department. There is also a reference to the "Atticus Finch Technique," which refers to a process of asking a question only when one knows the answer in advance. (An allusion to the novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird".)
5.1 Is Titan happy with its EAI?
5.2 How web services can simplify EAI
5.3 Web services in portals
5.4 Web services in software development
5.5 The savvy manager cautions: limitations of web services in EAI
5.6 Summary
I explain to Jay that web services and the service-oriented architecture (SOA) have the potential to facilitate real change in enterprise application integration (EAI). In addition, the new technology can have a major impact on two related areas: portals and software development. All three of these endeavors currently suffer from difficulties caused by proprietary standards. In this chapter, we look in detail at the way the open nature of web services may offer some welcome relief.
SOA Book - Understanding Enterprise SOA
Understanding Enterprise SOA [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback) by Eric Pulier (Author), Hugh Taylor (Author)
Book Description
Understanding Enterprise SOA service oriented architecture gives technologists and business people an invaluable and until now missing integrated picture of the issues and their interdependencies. You will learn how to think in a big way, moving confidently between technology- and business-level concerns. Written in a comfortable, mentoring style by two industry insiders, the book draws conclusions from actual experiences of real companies in diverse industries, from manufacturing to genome research. It cuts through vendor hype and shows you what it really takes to get enterprise SOA service oriented architecture to work.
Intended for both business people and technologists, the book reviews core service oriented architecture SOA technologies and uncovers the critical human factors involved in deploying them. You will see how enterprise SOA service oriented architecture changes the terrain of EAI, B2B commerce, business process management, "real time" operations, and enterprise software development in general.
What's Inside How SOA streamlines portal development and EAI
About the Author
Eric Pulier is a pioneer in the software and digital interactive industries. A frequent public speaker at technology conferences around the world, Eric has helped establish cutting-edge technology companies in media management, professional services, voice systems, and peer-to-peer networking. Hugh Taylor is an service oriented architecture SOA marketing executive who writes, teaches, and promotes the business value of service oriented architecture SOA and web services to major companies. The authors live in Los Angeles, California.
SOA Books - Understanding Enterprise SOA
SOA Books - Understanding Enterprise SOA Service Oriented Architecture by Eric Pulier and Hugh Taylor with foreword by Paul Gaffney
About this book
This SOA book is for anyone in the business world or in the public sector who needs to make sense of the new emerging standards for virtually all major information technology decisions. For business professionals, this book is meant to explain and clarify—in business terms—the way web services and SOA Service Oriented Architecture work in a business setting. For IT professionals, the book provides a business-oriented overview of Service Oriented Architecture SOA.
How the book is organized
The book is organized around the two critical areas necessary in realizing an enterprise SOA Service Oriented Architecture: technology and people. The nature of Service Oriented Architecture SOA is integrative; by definition, SOA Service Oriented Architecture pushes boundaries. Enterprise SOA cuts across multiple lines of business and technological disciplines. In the book this is amply illustrated through the presentation of the Titan Insurance case study, an up-close look at an insurance company that is suffering from the IT aftermath of a troubled merger.
In addition to an Introduction that sets out the parameters of Titan Insurance, and provides the back story, the book consists of two parts:
Part 1 “Understanding the technology of enterprise SOA” delves into the technological aspects of web services, as well as other technological issues that underlie the enterprise SOA Service Oriented Architecture. Chapters 1, 2, and 3 provide a broad overview of web services, how they work, and what they can do for your business. Chapter 4 introduces the concept of the service-oriented architecture. Chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8 explore how the enterprise SOA Service Oriented Architecture changes the terrain of enterprise application integration, software development, business-to-business commerce, business process management, and real-time operations. Chapters 9 and 10 introduce the extremely important discussions of security and management of enterprise SOA Service Oriented Architecture. Chapters 11 and 12 look at SOA networks and utility computing, two deployment scenarios that are likely to be on your horizon if you are considering an SOA Service Oriented Architecture.
Part 2 “Understanding the people and process of enterprise SOA Service Oriented Architecture, returns to the Titan case in full depth and provides a thorough look at the political, personal, and technological factors that arise when implementing an enterprise SOA at a real company. Chapter 13 looks at realizing Titan’s wish list for its Service Oriented Architecture SOA and begins to sort out how to deal with the individual players involved in the process. Chapter 14 continues with a description of how we achieved consensus among the players about how to pursue an effective SOA Service Oriented Architecture. Chapter 14 also introduces the “four P’s”—people, pilot, plan, and proceed—my suggested four-stage process for best practices in enterprise SOA. Chapters 15 and 16 go into more depth on how the training and pilot planning process works. In addition, these chapters outline a best practices approach to identifying the applications in an enterprise that are best suited for exposure as web services, a process I call service discovery. Chapter 17 examines platform selection and establishment of project goals and measurements of success. Chapter 18 concludes the book with a look at how Titan Insurance has moved forward with its Service Oriented Architecture SOA plan.
About the authors
Eric Pulier Founder and Executive Chairman of Service Oriented Architecture SOA Software and a widely recognized pioneer and visionary in the world of information technology. Named one of 30 e-Visionaries by VAR Business, Eric is a featured speaker at industry conferences and events and a member of the IBM’s UDDI Advisory Community. He leads Service Oriented Architecture SOA Software’s trailblazing efforts to develop breakthrough solutions for the management of XML Web Services, working with such clients as Toyota, US Steel, Hewlett Packard, and Charles Schwab. Eric earned his BA, Magna Cum Laude, from Harvard University. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.
Hugh Taylor Vice President of Marketing at Service Oriented Architecture SOA Software and the author of numerous white papers and articles on Service Oriented Architecture SOA, as well as the book, The Hollywood Job Hunter’s Survival Guide. Hugh earned his BA, Magna Cum Laude, and MBA from Harvard University. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.
