There is no doubt about it - the service-oriented architecture (SOA) is rapidly emerging as the template for future integration solutions. There are good reasons for this. SOA adoption promises a number of benefits that directly address drawbacks associated with previous approaches to the task of enterprise integration.

Two in particular stand out: reduced costs, as SOA enables the extensive re-use of existing functionality and assets within new applications, and the ability to re-use the infrastructure itself in multiple and diverse integration projects; and increased flexibility, as SOAs provide the ability to quickly and easily evolve and adapt applications in order to meet changing business requirements and new technologies, departments and organizations can be easily incorporated over time.

Every organization wants cost-effective and flexible IT systems. But, as always, bridging the divide between theory and practice is essential in order to deliver truly successful SOA. With that in mind, I outline ‘Six Principles’ that can help to focus the debate around the best way to implement SOA projects. These principles can be used to evaluate competing products or approaches, or simply help in guiding SOA development and ensuring maximum ROI. The six principles below are intended to help choose the most appropriate approach for your business and as a consequence enjoy success through SOA.

Minimise Costs Of Disruption
The SOA is a relatively new way of approaching and resolving the issues associated with enterprise integration, but does not mean that it cannot make use of existing, working technology already in place within the organization.

to minimize the costs associated with disruption of existing technologies in order to enable the creation of an integration solution. To relate this more specifically to the SOA; consider some of the elements that make up an enterprise integration solution: Application servers, databases, network and identity management tools, messaging products and so on. Nearly every customer has solutions in these areas already, usually carefully chosen, up and running, and hopefully delivering ROI. They do not want to be sold them all over again, with all the cost and risk that redevelopment of these systems would entail.