SOA and the Services Transformation

Computerworld - Is your organization thinking about services and service provider models differently than in the past? If not, perhaps it should be. With all the buzz about Web services and services-oriented architecture (SOA), many firms are planning their approaches to implementing these solutions.
Some are focused on Web services and determining how and where they are appropriate for their businesses. Others are focused on SOA and the strategic benefits that attend this architectural paradigm. Both of these approaches are valid entry points to SOA. However, it's critical that they are planned and executed within a broader context -- a business services context -- that supports an organization's strategy and business model, as well as its IT strategy.
Web services and SOA are the capstones of a larger trend toward so-called services that has been under way for some time. Acquiring services from external organizations is an excellent way to augment existing capabilities while focusing on core competencies.
This isn't a new concept. IT services as a separate market was innovated by Electronic Data Systems Corp. when Ross Perot realized that many IBM customers had lots of mainframe capacity but didn't know how to use this technology most effectively. EDS in a sense created the IT services market. Now, almost every business function can be acquired as a service, from human resources and CRM to ERP and manufacturing capacity. Of course, IT outsourcing has been in the spotlight these days with the offshore outsourcing trend.

We are in the midst of a services transformation, where internal departments are being asked to become internal service providers to their internal customers to help create better business and customer focus as well as more competitive performance and efficiency. If performance metrics and operating efficiencies can't be achieved, the function can always be outsourced. However, this sometimes veiled threat is the downside of the services transformation movement. There are many upsides that must be emphasized, and that will be our focus the remainder of this article.
So, what are the benefits of a services transformation, and how can it be achieved? Below is a sample list of some of the benefits of the services transformation model:

• Treats internal departments as service providers to create better business focus and alignment


• Shifts attention from internal departmental focus to business and customer focus


• Creates a more efficient operations by aligning departmental functions to the overall needs of the business


• Delivers services reliably on a metered, usage-based fashion similar to phone or other utility services


• Generates a higher business purpose by focusing on big-picture business issues and assuring that internal functions explicitly support them