Robert J. Williams Jr.

This article explains how an Open Source SOA Roadmap can use a typical Web application project's funding as the basis for a successful SOA transition effort. It is the first of three articles that explains how open source technologies and techniques can be leveraged to successfully deliver SOA solutions given the current economic downturn. The pain of these economic times is real. Staying competitive and thriving today means you must "think outside the box" to manage costs and exploit opportunities like never before. Most IT shops are currently in the commercial SOA box. A box where the transition of enterprise architecture to a service-oriented enterprise architecture is accomplished by commercial technologies and techniques. It typically costs millions of dollars to fu... (more)

The Investment Virtues of "SOA in the Cloud"

In today's economy, an enterprise must have strong financial motives for transitioning to SOA. SOA's superior technical capabilities are a strong motive for information technology professionals to make that transition. However, enterprise stakeholders are motivated by solid investment opportunities. Software architects have learned how to express the technical virtues of SOA. What they n... (more)

Transition a C-Level SOA Skeptic into a SOA Backer

SOA C-level skeptics come in all shapes and sizes. They can be in any industry or any government agency. They can be close friends who "really like you" and no matter what, will invite you to their backyard barbeques. However, despite their differences or that fact that they may be you friends - C-level executives must have confidence the enterprise architect can deliver on what he propo... (more)