SOA AND CLOUD COMPUTING

Cloud computing and SOA are different concepts, but they are related. SOA is a pattern of architecture whereas cloud computing is an instance of architecture, or an architectural option. SOA is more holistic and strategic, meaning it deals with the complete enterprise including the business drivers, whereas cloud computing is more tactical and is a way of solving a problem. They are linked, and it is difficult to do one without the other if you are looking to solve problems at the enterprise level. Service-oriented architecture, or SOA, is really about fixing existing architectures by addressing most of the major systems as services and abstracting those services into a single domain where they are formed into solutions. Simple in concept�and really nothing new�SOA is our best approach to fixing the broken architectures. With the wide use of standards such as Web Services, SOA is being promoted as the best way to bring architectural agility to your enterprise�that is, if you do SOA correctly. SOA is a valid approach to solve many of the architectural problems that enterprises face today. However, those who implement SOA typically look at SOA as something you buy, not something you do. Thus, many SOA projects are again about purchasing some technology that is sold as “SOA in-a-box,� which turns out to be in-a-box but not SOA, and thus only adds to the problems. Big SOA encompasses the larger strategic objectives of SOA: simultaneously moving all the enterprise IT assets to something much more agile and easy to change. Small SOA is just an instance of a big SOA.