Dr Chris Harding is Forum Director for SOA and Semantic Interoperability at The Open Group.

He has been with The Open Group for ten years, and is currently responsible for managing and supporting its work on semantic interoperability and SOA.

Before joining The Open Group, he was a consultant, and a designer and development manager of communications software. With a PhD in mathematical logic, he welcomes the current upsurge of interest in semantic technology, and the opportunity to apply logical theory to practical use.

He has presented at Open Group and other conferences on a range of topics, and contributes regular articles to ebizQ. He is a certified TOGAF practitioner.

Presentation

SOA Comes of Age

The Open Group's approach to enterprise architecture is based on pragmatism, and TOGAF has been described as "systematized common sense". When SOA was first trumpeted as a major architectural style, The Open Group formed a Work Group for SOA. But the topic has been surrounded by such a vast amount of hype, with so little common sense in evidence, that it has been hard to be pragmatic about SOA, and give practical guidance to enterprise architects on how to use it.

Now, the hype has died down, and it is possible to see SOA in perspective. It is an effective architectural style that delivers value in many, but not all, situations. Answers are appearing to the very pragmatic questions that architects ask, such as, "When should I use SOA?", "What, exactly, are its benefits?", and "How do I obtain those benefits for my enterprise?" Work within The Open Group has shown that TOGAF can be used for SOA, and is investigating how an enterprise should govern itself for effective SOA implementation and operation.

The SOA Source Book, which is being launched at the London conference, contains The Open Group's current conclusions on these topics. It is a work in progress, which will be supplemented and extended with new material as discussions proceed over the coming months and years. This first version embodies an initial set of practical reference material for enterprise architects using SOA.

The presentation will describe the current state of SOA, the difficulties that face the enterprise architect in using SOA, and the help that the Source Book can give in overcoming those difficulties.

SOA has come of age. It is a mature architectural style. It is effective and delivers value, but is difficult to use. The Open Group will deliver practical guidance that will help enterprise architects to use SOA. The SOA Source Book, launched in London, is the first installment.

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