Move over portal, our messaging client can be the SOA presentation layer. From a reference architecture perspective, the enterprise portal is considered the presentation layer for SOA. Portal is part of the software stack for all the major integration and SOA platform vendors. But while portal is a powerful tool, users spend a great deal of time in their email clients. Wouldn't it be great if we could service enable email as well?
For a glimpse of the SOA email future, take a look at the
Zimbra Collaboration Suite . The browser-based Zimbra email client uses AJAX to provide a rich GUI and web services to extend the client's functionality.
Zimbra is a services provider (for messaging and collaboration) and consumer. As a service consumer, Zimbra can create "enterprise mash-ups" embedding web services from other software packages into email messages. The demo on the Zimbra web site shows a PO approval process executed within an email conversation thread.
External web services are integrated within email messages using "Zimlets". From the Zimbra web site, "Zimlets are a mechanism for integrating the Zimbra Collaboration Suite (ZCS) with third party information systems and content. We also use the Zimlet approach to "mash-up" (intermix) user interfaces within the Zimbra collaboration suite itself, such as by mashing up calendar and contacts within your email.
Zimlets are an extensible mechanism for marrying Web 2.0 technologies to enterprise messaging (e.g., email, IM, voice) and collaboration. With Zimlets, arbitrary message content can be made live by linking it with web content and services on intranets or the Internet."
Embedding services within the context of an email thread is a powerful concept. Using AJAX and web services the email client can be extended to create new, not-yet-conceived applications.
As Chief Technologist and National Practice Director for SOA with Perficient, Inc., I get the opportunity to work with a lot of customers implementing SOA. See my
bio page for my contact information or just post a comment if you want to talk about your SOA projects.
