Develop a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Web Services architecture for long-term IT planning
Since the late nineties, companies have seen the number of internal applications within their network grow significantly. In an effort to promote business growth and maintain a competitive advantage, many large organizations deployed a myriad of applications that didn't necessarily integrate well with each other, leaving IT operations struggling with rising costs and increasing levels of software complexity. At the same time, the recent economic downturn left many IT departments with their budgets cut, forcing IT staff to spend their time managing these applications without having the resources to focus on new business initiatives needed to keep their organizations competitive. In the last year, Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA) have received a lot of attention because they offer a viable solution to the integration and consolidation problem that most IT departments are facing today. More importantly, this adaptable, flexible approach is setting a new foundation not only for cost savings, but also a greater ROI and new kind of competitive advantage.
SOA is not a new concept - enterprise architects have embraced this concept for many years because, like in a house, if all the services are setup correctly, maintenance time and costs will be considerably reduced. What makes SOA even more pertinent today is that the technology used to connect these services - SOAP Web Services - is more mature and easier to implement than it once was. All the plumbing necessary to make different Web Services work together is now supported by all major software vendors, including Microsoft, IBM, BEA and Oracle, making them truly enterprise ready.
Molecular has led several successful SOA engagements for clients. One of Molecular's most successful projects involving SOA has been with Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI). This project involved starting from the ground up to develop a new architecture to support the company's commerce and security infrastructures. Additionally, ADI had hopes of adding merchandising capabilities in the foreseeable future. Molecular developed a Service Oriented Architecture, which allowed single-point control of access to ADI's entire set of applications, amongst several other benefits.
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