Service-oriented architecture (SOA) will be used in more than 50 percent of new mission-critical operational applications and business processes designed in 2007 and in more than 80 percent by 2010, according to a new study by Gartner. SOA has dramatically grown in popularity, and adoption has expanded across vertical industries, geographies, and organization sizes. However, the number of failed projects has also grown, and organizations have discovered that SOA benefits come at a cost as the challenges associated with its adoption become more apparent."New software products for SOA have hit the market, but given their immaturity, have disappointed users in terms of reliability, performance, and productivity," says Frank Kenney, a research director for Gartner. "SOA principles have been applied too rigidly, and this has led to unsatisfactory outcomes as projects became too costly and didn't meet deadlines."
