Service-oriented architecture (SOA) is now touted by vendors as a new approach to business computing, but Ron Schmelzer, senior analyst with ZapThink LLC., likes to point out that the concept first surfaced in 1996.
Of course, there were no SOA tools or other related products in 1996, but some organizations began doing SOA anyway, which the analyst sees as a good thing. It is something that SOA proponents, architects and developers might do well to keep in mind as they are inundated with pitches from SOA product vendors, he suggests. SOA is now at the point where it needs to prove itself, Schmelzer says, and it doesn't need more technology.
He sees a disconnect caused by vendors marketing products for Web services integration and their customers who think they are buying SOA.
