What business problems does SOA solve?

What business problems does SOA solve?

Loose coupling:

Component architecture:
This provides a flexible, platform- and language-independent means of building scalable and reusable software components.

Loose coupling:
The use of an ESB provides an ideal vehicle to loosely bind the service consumer and provider, removing all traces of point-to-point interfaces.

Utility services:
These let you build libraries of reusable IT services providing, for example, an e-mail service, credit card service, and so on, which become enterprise assets with the SOA.

Legacy enablement:
Whilst the norm is to use SOAP/HTTP, a service doesn't necessarily have to be a Web service. Native applications and legacy systems can be full participants in an SOA, using, for example, Java Message Service (JMS) to hook into an MQ cluster on an IBM iSeries® platform, revitalizing a legacy RPG application.

Platform independence:
The adoption of standards has been key within SOA, enabling previously incompatible technologies to work cooperatively across a range of platforms.

Reduced costs,

Reduced costs, only in long run

Increased flexibility,

Customer satisfaction,

Superior service

Improved results

Better quality

Agile methodologies dictate reuse

SOA propels reuse, reuse and reuse

Agile business approach enhances collaboration

SOA is all about integrating systems and services to achieve ultimate collaboration

Stronger connections with customers and suppliers

SOA enables businesses to develop a new generation of dynamic applications that address a number of top-level business concerns that are central to growth and competitiveness. SOA solutions promote:

• Stronger connections with customers and suppliers. By making available dynamic applications and business services to external customers and suppliers, not only is richer collaboration possible, but customer and partner satisfaction is increased. SOA unlocks critical supply and demand chain processes—such as outsourcing of specific business tasks—from the constraints of underlying IT architectures, thereby enabling better alignment of processes with organizational strategy.

• Enhanced business decision making. By aggregating access to business services and information into a set of dynamic, composite business applications, decision makers gain more accurate and more comprehensive information, and gain the flexibility to access that information in the form and presentation factor (Web, rich client, mobile device) that meets their needs.

• Greater employee productivity. By providing streamlined access to systems and information and enabling business process improvement, businesses can drive greater employee productivity. Employees can focus their energies on addressing the important, value-added processes and on collaborative, semi-structured activities, rather than having to conform to the limitations and restrictions of the underlying IT systems.