Internal and External SOA: What's the Difference?
You need to decide whether you want quick returns with a limited external SOA deliverable or can afford to dedicate yourself to a thorough, internal SOA project and delay a larger return for years.
On the downside, lean, consumer-focused approaches make the business susceptible to market shifts and do not always support measurement or course correction. Duplication of system function and information content is common since there is seldom time to wait for internal system migration. Externally focused SOA less often meets the information or reporting requirements for internal departments, and operational information is relegated to secondary importance. Functional departments peripheral to the revenue stream have little say in additional SOA efforts, even if they can demonstrate potential benefits.
The concepts and components of SOA do not differ between internal and external efforts. Each approach merely attempts to tackle business delivery along a different path—hopefully, a path that recognizes and is leveraging the strengths of existing business strategy, process and technology.
Steven Fullmer is president of Blue Sphere Solutions, providing outsource CTO services to emergent and growth-oriented businesses. He has designed, developed and deployed technology solutions in the supercomputer, financial, security, telecommunications and Internet industries. He has regularly managed projects based on his analysis into practical application.
