An ebizQ Takeaway:

Joe McKendrick speculates on the "funky aspect" of  last week's acquisition by Workday of Cape Clear Software. Workday is known for offering ERP applications via the SaaS model, and Joe says they've been delivering quite an interesting story over the past year or so. They call themselves the on-demand alternative to ERP. (SAP seems to have taken note, as they announced they plan to offer SaaS-based ERP via 'Business By Design')

But, as Joe asks, "How does Cape Clear fit into this picture?"

According to Cape Clear CEO Annrai O'Toole, this is a movement away form Big IT and Big SOA to the delivery of software-based services on an as-needed basis:

"For those of you who may be a little surprised at a hosted applications company buying an SOA and Enterprise Service Bus company, you shouldn't be. 1. SOA needs to be kept simple and focus on the business side of the house, 2. SOA is about enabling applications, not technology, 3. The future of SOA is tied up with the whole phenomena of 'On Demand.'"

So, apparently, Workday is leveraging its Cape Clear purchase as "Integration on Demand."