Exploring IBM SOA Technology & Practice

How to plan, build, and manage a Service Oriented Architecture
in the Real World

IBM SOA Insider Shows Path to
Business Agility

Service oriented architecture (SOA) is a major technology trend
focused on making corporate information technology (IT) an enabler
of (not an impediment to) business flexibility and innovation. SOA
takes individual steps in a business process and implements each of them as a stand alone, reusable “service.” These “services” can then be configured and reconfigured to implement flexible business processes.

While SOA is not the unique province of any single vendor, IBM has taken a leadership position in the industry and is actively helping organizations in many industries be successful with SOA. IBM is in the enviable position of offering an unmatched breadth of hardware, software, and services necessary to deliver the business agility
offered by a SOA implementation. This book is intended for those interested in migrating their existing computing infrastructure in the direction of a Service Oriented Architecture using IBM technology and services.

In Exploring IBM SOA Technology & Practice, IBM SOA expert Bobby
Woolf explores IBM’s vision for success with SOA. Woolf starts by describing the reasons an organization should consider adopting SOA. Issues and challenges faced once you decide to adopt SOA are examined. Guidance is given on how to prepare, select good SOA projects, and how to structure a committee to manage all SOA projects in an organization.

Woolf then moves in for a closer look at the nuts and bolts of SOA including the IBM SOA Reference Architecture, the suite of IBM products/services (e.g. IBM WebSphere) used to implement that architecture, and SOA application development practices. Vital topics such as lifecycle management and governance are covered.

Throughout the ebook you will find direct links to a rich array of SOA videos, Webcasts, white papers, and other SOA resources to help your projects succeed.

This book is a key resource for IT professionals and business people who work closely with IT who want to learn how to use SOA to make their corporations more successful and how they can work with IBM to achieve that success.

This book will help you:

• See if SOA is right for your organization
• Identify appropriate SOA project candidates
• Understand the challenges that go along with an SOA strategy
• See the important role governance plays in successful projects
• Understand the IBM SOA Reference Architecture
• See how IBM WebSphere works with other products and services to implement SOA
• Explore links to video, Webcasts, and other online content that will help you succeed with SOA

See what others have to say…

“This book shows how to incorporate all of the working pieces for an SOA and provides the reader keen insight on how to leverage these pieces to make a service oriented architecture flourish.”
– Jon Richter, SOA Governance Lead, WW SOA Delivery Team, IBM SWG Services

“[This book summarizes] the wealth of IBM thinking on Service Oriented Architectures in this concise exposition. I shall be using this in my future SOA engagements.”
– Dave Artus, Consulting IT Specialist, WebSphere Services, IBM Hursley Labs

“The first step to consumability is documentation. This book makes SOA approachable and consumable, by providing a big picture view on SOA, and how to take the next steps.”
– Roland Barcia, Web 2.0 Enablement and SOA Assets Lead, IBM Software Services for WebSphere

“Exploring IBM SOA Technology & Practice is a comprehensive guide to understanding the anatomy of Service Oriented Architecture and its corresponding technology. Bobby Woolf’s guide will be an invaluable resource for anyone who needs to make technology decisions in order to realize SOA. My team will use it as an educational resource and a quick reference.”
– Ben Thurgood, SOA Delivery Leader, IBM Software Services, Asia Pacfic

About the Author

Bobby Woolf is a member of IBM Software Services for WebSphere, consultants who help organizations achieve success with IBM WebSphere products. Bobby helps clients successfully run projects to develop business applications using service-oriented architecture (SOA) and WebSphere Business Process Management products like WebSphere Process Server and WebSphere Application Server. He is co-author of two popular books, Enterprise Integration Patterns and The Design Patterns Smalltalk Companion, frequently publishes articles and podcasts on the IBM developerWorks Web site, presents at several conferences like WebSphere Technology Exchange, and writes a widely-read blog on IBM developerWorks. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.