SOA Misconceptions

Here Are Some of the Top 10

The following is a compilation of the top ten most common SOA Management misconceptions:

1. 
   Perception:
   Rogue services are a result of malicious code planted by hackers.
   
   Reality:
   Not always... packaged applications may contain unidentified services that are susceptible to being used in unintended ways. Learn more about SOA Governance.
   
   
2. 
   Perception:
   A company's security infrastructure prevents the proliferation of rogue services.
   
   Reality:Services can undermine a company's security initiatives, making financial and other confidential information vulnerable.
   
   
3. 
   Perception:
   Rogue services are bothersome but not dangerous.
   
   Reality:
   Rogue services can lead to prosecution or company shutdowns if compliance mandates are not met.
   
   
4. 
   Perception:
   Packaged applications are a main source of rogue services.
   
   Reality:
   Packaged applications, as well as applications built by outside consultants or internal programmers, can be a source of rogue services.
   
   
5. 
   Perception:
   An IT department's list of Web services in production is SOA management.
   
   Reality:
   A list of services in production does not constitute SOA Management. A list does not guarantee that the organization has an accurate, complete view of all services and, therefore, is providing sufficient service monitoring or maintenance. Learn more about Operational Excellence.
   
   
6. 
   Perception:
   An assortment of Web services is synonymous with a fully functioning SOA.
   
   Reality:
   Unmanaged Web services are potential rogue services and open the door to service redundancies that defeat the key SOA benefit of web service reuse. Align IT with Business Goals.
   
   
7. 
   Perception:
   A multitude of services comprises an SOA architecture.
   
   Reality:
   Services built as part of an SOA infrastructure initiative need to be managed, governed, and secured. If they aren't, the result will be scattered and poorly integrated services working against each other.
   
   
8. 
   Perception:
   Detecting rogue services is an arduous process.
   
   Reality:
   Web services management infrastructures that automatically detect and quarantine rogue services can be created and implemented.
   
   
9. 
   Perception:
   Adding more rules to an architecture reduces risk.
   
   Reality:
   Complexity actually increases risk. Organizations should implement fewer rules and automate compliance with those rules. Read about some SOA Worst Practices.
   
   
10. 
    Perception:
    Automated SOA management will alleviate all risk associated with rogue services.
    
    Reality:
    IT organizations must combine technology with a culture shift and willingness to course-correct and improve their SOA strategy. The right SOA infrastructure will make your SOA initiative a success.

These are just some of the SOA misconceptions that we've gathered over the year. As you embark or continue to enhance existing an SOA, it is important to remember that though web service are the foundation on which SOA is built, SOA is basically an architectural approach and not a collection of web services. You need to choose applications that are the right fit for SOA, and your business. You cannot buy SOA in a box and must carefully select the best-in-class products and standards to support your SOA. SOA is only a part of the enterprise architecture, and it starts with the framework and evolves over multiple projects over time. It is not possible to think of SOA as a single project...

You may also be interested in...

• Business Transaction Assurance
• Service Level Management
• Enterprise Service Bus
• Common Information Models
• SOA Infrastructure blog