The Canonical Data Zone: Issues in data selection for Service Oriented Architectures
Gary Farrow
IT Architect/Director, Triari Consulting
This presentation introduces the concept of the 'Canonical Data Zone'
in Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) solutions.
The canonical data zone is defined as that portion of a service
oriented architecture framework that operates using a common data
format within its service operation and supporting data architecture.
The benefits of adopting an enterprise wide canonical data format are
discussed, namely:
- Support for channel harmonisation, this being the goal of a single
common business process irrespective of the delivery channel;
- Vastly simplified IT architecture, enabling a common solution within
the canonical zone.
The canonical data zone boundary is illustrated in terms of the
specific layers a SOA Reference Architecture that use the common data
format. The issues in selecting an appropriate canonical data format
for an enterprise are then described, specifically the suitability
open, industry and custom standards for use as the canonical data form.
Finally, the architectural implications of operating the IT
enterprise using a canonical data zone are highlighted. These are:
- The need to have an enterprise integration service capable of
efficient transformation to and from the canonical data format;
- Recognition of the need to support different integration patterns
for connections between the canonical and non-canonical architecture
zones.
- Recognition of need for an integration architecture that is
optimised to support these different patterns.
In conclusion, employing a canonical data zone and associated format
selection is shown to be a vital consideration for any major
enterprise SOA initiative.
 Gary Farrow is a Solution Architect with over 20 years' experience. He has
undertaken senior architect roles at major banks and financial
services firms and led many successful, high value IT programmes.
 Gary has broad expertise in large scale systems integration,
enterprise service bus architectures and Service Oriented
Architecture (SOA) and deep domain specialism in payments systems. He
has published many articles on SOA and payments processing and
presented at major international conferences.
He is a Member of the IET, a Chartered Engineer& Open Group Master
Certified Architect. Holds BSc, MSc& PhD degrees and a Certificate
in Business Administration. Gary also has a role on the Open Group's
IT Architecture Certification Board and is an Associate Lecturer in
e-Business Technologies at the Open University, UK.
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