Stealing freely from Wikipedia.org (which I would recommend as a jumping off
point if you decide you want to delve further into SOA), SOA is a method for
organizing and utilizing IT capabilities (services) that may be distributed
across different "owners,"  providing a way to offer, interact with, and use
these capabilities to achieve business ends --consistent with preconditions
and expectations (i.e., standards).  It's important because it allows IT to
deliver services for the actual business requirements and adapt best
practices for similar functions throughout the enterprise.  Perhaps most
important to the end-user is that it can help ensure that the services
created actually represent the business needs and are not just what IT
thinks the business services should be.

Can't say why you personally should give a hoot about it, except that if
done right it should make IT more responsive to business needs.

Peter Lundell
Millican & Associates, Inc.

-----Original Message-----
SOA (service-oriented architecture) means, in accessible terms, and why I
should give a hoot about it?  Thanks in advance!

Julie Colgan
Manager of Records Services
Arnall Golden Gregory LLP

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