Over the years I've attended a number of different meetings held by consultants and executives in which they explained the need to bring different technology platforms together. Many of these discussions involved using some new technology that was the killer application of the time. When I first heard about Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) I thought we were in for more of the same but after hearing and reading more I feel differently. I believe that SOA is not just a fad, but will really be able to do it this time. The biggest reason for my change of heart is the use of Web Services.

Web Services can sit on just about any existing web application server. The clients that will then consume these services can be hosted by just about any platform as well. In addition to this if anybody still thinks that Web Services are still to immature to take seriously just look at EBay. EBay sold $40 Billion worth of merchandise in 2004 and 20% of their overall transactions during that year were made via their web services API. This isn't just a passing fad we are talking about here. SOA via Web Services are here to stay and I only see increased usage of them in the future.

Using Web Services allows an organization to build a set of new common services that the different organizations within a large company can use. Developers can also create web services in front of an existing application that will provide a new interface to it. By exposing these services to the organization and cataloging them the much sought after ability to reuse and leverage new and existing applications will finally become a reality.

One thing that is often overlooked by organizations is the need to truly organize an effort like an SOA deployment. Developers cannot simply take up the call to implement SOA within an organization and make it happen. Web Services are easy to create and consume but the cataloging and targeting of those new services that will most benefit the organization should be lead at a higher level then at the level of a developer.