Enterprise SOA: Designing IT for Business Innovation

Information Technology professionals can use this book to move beyond the excitement of web services and service oriented architecture (SOA) and begin the process of finding actionable ideas to innovate and create business value. In Enterprise SOA: Designing IT for Business Innovation, SAP's blueprint for putting SOA to work is analyzed from top to bottom. In addition to design, development, and architecture, vital contextual issues such as governance, security, change management, and culture are also explored. This comprehensive perspective reduces risk as IT departments implement ESA, a sound, flexible architecture for adapting business processes in response to changing market conditions.

This book answers the following questions:

• What forces created the need for Enterprise Services Architecture?
• How does ESA enable business process innovation?
• How is model-driven development used at all levels of design, configuration, and deployment?
• How do all the layers of technology that support ESA work together?
• How will composite applications extend business process automation?
• How does ESA create new models for IT governance?
• How can companies manage disruptive change?
• How can enterprise services be discovered and designed?
• How will the process of adapting applications be simplified?

Based on extensive research with experts from the German software company SAP, this definitive book is ideal for architects, developers, and other IT professionals who want to understand the technology and business relevance of ESA in a detailed way--especially those who want to move on the technology now, rather than in the next year or two.

Dan Woods, a seasoned CTO, has built technology for companies ranging from Time Inc. New Media to TheStreet.com. He has managed the product development cycle from initial requirements through sales for web sites and software products designed for the publishing and financial services industries. Dan has also navigated all phases of the business cycle: crafting strategy and budgets, building and managing large development teams, writing patent applications, negotiating large vendor agreements, operating data centers, communicating with board members, raising money, and selling and marketing a product. Dan is the author of two books and a frequent contributor to InfoWorld and other publications.

Thomas Mattern, Solution Marketing Manager for Enterprise Services Architecture at SAP, has over 10 years experience in product marketing and management with a focus on distributed software architectures and enterprise application development. Thomas is a frequent speaker who has written numerous articles about the application of technology to business.