What’s SOA?

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Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) connects resources on a network for flexible use, especially useful for larger systems and remote users. SOA can be applied to existing connections and software applications, providing easy communication between programs and scalability. It can be configured to exact specifications and implemented without changing existing modules. SOA allows programs to combine functions for easier tasks, such as creating mass mailings.

SOA, or Service Oriented Architecture, is a technology that allows a variety of resources to be connected on a network for use as and when needed. The use of SOA is sometimes more flexible in how resources are connected and used simultaneously than other types of system architecture projects. Service-oriented architecture can be particularly useful when a larger number of users are connected to the system, especially if there are remote users who need access to specific applications residing on the network.

The concept of SOA did not originate with the advent of computer systems. Since the premise behind the project has to do with the interaction of independent resources based on demand, the basic model has been used for decades to define the infrastructure of a company. The model can be applied to existing connections between functions that function independently of each other, or even autonomous functions that run within a single department. In all cases, the established framework allows data to be obtained from any number of independent sources as and when needed.

With software applications, SOA provides the means to leverage the components of various programs in a way that makes communication between applications simple and easy. The flexibility of SOA lends itself easily to systems where applications need to be continuously updated or the network expanded to accommodate additional functions and users. For example, service-oriented architecture works very well in systems designed for use in healthcare, allowing systems to be adapted to handle new tasks and functions with relative ease.

While SOA can be fast and provide easy connectivity to a wide variety of program components, you can control the flexibility of the architecture. This gives system engineers the ability to make a particular SOA as scalable and fast as desired, or implement any number of security measures that monitor access, the type of access assigned to each user in the network, and which modules within each program can be accessed simultaneously. In short, service-oriented architecture can be configured to the exact specifications of the information technology team and work exactly the way the business needs it to work.

Implementing SOA does not necessarily mean that all existing network and resident program modules need to be changed. There are a number of SOA tools that plug easily into existing networks without changing an element of current functionality. What service-oriented architecture will do is allow programs that were previously unable to draw on resources related to other programs to combine functions and make certain tasks easier to perform. For example, a sales and marketing database may be able to interact with word processing programs to create a mass mailing of promotional letters by combining the information contained in a text template, the profiles established in the marketing database, and all independents residing on the Net.




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