Cloud Computing vs. SOA: Look for a cross-over in hype
Cloud Computing is one of the many things enterprise CIOs, CTOs and other engineers will master in delivering capability. I believe in the power of new Cloud Computing technologies and concepts and think we should all continue our focus there.
I have said, and still say, the same thing about design approaches like Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). The constructs, methods and models of SOA are good practices that result in good designs for enterprises. It is smart to separate data from application logic and smart to enable agility and mashups the way good SOA design does.
But a key problem with SOA was the hype associated with it. Everyone started using the term the way they wanted to. And every IT vendor came out with their definition of SOA. And every system integrator tried to sell us buckets of their SOA. And every trade journal ran SOA articles. And too many CTOs, myself included, said too much to our customer/users about the promise of SOA and that contributed to our users increasing their expectations over what SOA would deliver. The result of all of that, the over hype on SOA sometimes caused distractions. The cure: CTOs focused on what SOA meant for their specific organizations. It is still a great construct and by focus it is delivering value.
There are now clear indications that the hype around Cloud Computing is going to ramp way up. In fact, a quick search on Google Trends indicates searches on the topic of Cloud Computing, while still lower than searches on the topic of SOA, are rapidly gaining while searches on SOA are declining. The two are headed for a cross-over.
The graph below reflects this (a live version of this graph is at Google Trends).
Here are my views of the “So What” of this information. For the Chief Technology Officer or Chief Information Officer or other enterprise technologist who must really deliver, I’d recommend you brace yourself for a flood of hype. You have probably already seen indications of this. But if trends continue the amount of views you (and your bosses) will be asked to consider and deal with will accelerate dramatically. Your defense against this will be the strength of your own position in Cloud Computing. Therefore, I strongly recommend you personally think through what Cloud Computing means to your enterprise. Also, think through your definition of cloud computing. Hopefully the NIST definition will suit your use, since the more people who form up on that the better.
And you may want to think through which Cloud Computing related events you will attend and speak at.
And you may want to think through you who personally believe the strongest IT players are in the Cloud Computing world. I have my list. Let me know if you want to compare notes sometime.
Any thoughts?
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Well said Bob. To many in the IC believe SOA is just the enterprise buss, but you don’t get effective SOA without orchestration which demands knowing what you are trying to do with your capabilities. Same for Cloud —- what is it you want Cloud Computing do. That should drive decision about Cloud implementation —— not some as yet incomplete definition for cloud computing or adherence to some externally derived reference architecture. And yes I would like your list of top cloud IT players thanks joemaz
Thanks Joe. That focus on the mission is something that was driven into me in the fleet and I still believe it now. I’ll get you my list of top cloud IT players. It would be good to chat with you about that someday.
Bob
In addition to the SOA hype, I commonly witness people engaging in SOA-based implementations before really embracing (and comprehending) the real “meat”…the methodology and patterns. Without appropriate vendor/technology agnostic planning and designing, implementations will fail just the same as in the past, especially from an enterprise perspective.
Thanks Brandon, that is good context and much appreciated.
Bob
Bob, the trend seems intuitively obvious but as you state, it is truly dependent on the varying definitions of SOA and Cloud Computing. I am finding that understanding the definitions coming from the various professional markets determines the distinguishing factors between SOA and Cloud Computing. One credential that both must have is a flexible operating environment for the users (whomever they may be). In the end, the users must be able to operate freely without disruption to their mission and functions. This is critical to all definitions. Thanks, Wayne