Executives Guide to Web Services (SOA, Service-Oriented Architecture)

This chapter sought to demonstrate that the greatest impact of Web services, and the most effective way to implement Web services, is from a business perspective. We strongly suggest that initial Web services discussions begin at a strategic level, with a joint dialogue between business and IT executives. The framework introduced in this chapter illustrated several areas where Web services can, and eventually will, prove beneficial for organizations. An assessment of the implications of Web services should consider multiple perspectives, from corporate strategy to detailed value chain and operational considerations as illustrated in Figure 4.8.

Figure 4.8: Web services impact across multiple levels.

Organizations should consider the implications of Web services across multiple levels of the aspects of the business:

• Corporate Strategy —Impact on vision and corporate goals

• Business Model —Impact on actual strategy, structure, organization, and processes

• Business Value Chain —Impact on specific value-creating processes

• IT Value Chain —Impact on IT processes creating and supporting business value

• Web Services Value Chain —How Web services will drive business benefit across the entire business

Careful analysis of the impact of Web services on the business model, on the corporate value chain, and, ultimately, on the IT value chain will help to identify business benefit for moving ahead with Web services and to determine the starting point for Web services initiatives, which is revisited in Chapter 6, “Where to Begin.” It is critical to remember that the business value achievable through the use of Web services will be the greatest force for their adoption.