December 1st, 2005
Here's an SOA definition we can live with
Some see SOA along technical lines; others from a business perspective. Malte Poppensieker at the University of Trier pondered the true meaning of service-oriented architecture, and I think really captured its essence in this definition:
“In Service-Oriented Architecture autonomous, loosely-coupled and coarse-grained services with well-defined interfaces provide business functionality and can be discovered and accessed through a supportive infrastructure. This allows internal and external system integration as well as the flexible reuse of application logic through the composition of services."
Malte hit upon some key words here — especially in citing "loosely coupled" and "reuse" as elements of SOA. I would add just a few words at the end:
"…to support an end-to-end business process."
Joe McKendrick is an author and consultant with deep knowledge and insights regarding trends and developments in the technology industry. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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