What SOA isn’t

What SOA isn’t

There are numerous misconceptions about what service oriented architecture SOA is—that it is a product that can be purchased (it is not; it is a design philosophy that informs how the solution should be built); that the goal is to build a Sservice oriented architecture OA (it is not; SOA is a means to an end); or that SOA requires a complete technological and business process overhaul (it doesn’t; SOA solutions should be incremental and built on current investments).

SOA is also often equated with Web services, and the terms used interchangeably. While it is true that service oriented architecture SOA is made easier and more pervasive through the broad adoption of Web services–based standards and protocols, the two are distinct. SOA service oriented architecture is an approach to designing systems—in effect the architectural drawings or blueprint—that directs how IT resources will be integrated and which services will be exposed for use. In contrast, Web services is an implementation methodology that uses specific standards and language protocols to execute on a service oriented architecture SOA solution.