Understanding and implementing SOA in a middleware environment

Instead of program code calls, SOA modelling allows the use of common protocols for both systems to communicate with each other. And, perhaps more importantly, it allows other systems to intelligently communicate with each other as they are added to the mix.

This process is called orchestration in the world of SOA and allows different services to be associated with each other on a non-hierarchical basis.

The process differs markedly from the traditional programming approach of associating different program functions (classes) together in hierarchical group as normally happens when a complete IT system is developed from the ground up.

And this is the beauty of SOA modelling - it allows entirely different IT systems of different ages and different operating systems to be loosely coupled with each other and for them to efficiently exchange data between themselves.

All of which leads us neatly into talking about the integration of the latest Internet technologies, including Web 2.0 services, into the IT systems of a typical company.

In the early-to-mid-1990s, when the World Wide Web was starting to take off, many companies actually had to print off their orders from the Internet and re-key them into the existing sales and order processing system.

Using SOA this archaic practice goes out of the window. Even data from social networking sites such as Facetime and MySpace - which are classic examples of Web 2.0 services - can be easily integrated into the IT mix using SOA modelling.

According to respected IT authors Tom O'Reilly and John Battelle, Web 2.0 services like Facebook are actually a platform, with various applications operating in the Internet environment, and generating data along the way.

For the hard-pressed IT manager, integrating data from the Web 2.0 environment - which could come in a variety of formats - into the company IT resource can be an extraordinarily difficult process.

Unless you bring SOA modelling into play. Continued on next page Tags: EDI, SOA, business intelligence, business process management