Over half of UK organisations still dont fully understand SOA

SAP users global survey reveals UK companies lag behind in their adoption of SOA

Preliminary results of a global survey undertaken by the SAP UK & Ireland User Group and the global SUGEN community (SAP User Group Executive Network) has revealed that 55% of UK organisations questioned either didnt understand SOA or hadnt got a strategy in place to implement it. SOA is the underlying architectural direction for all future applications development, yet only 13% of UK organisations questioned said that they were actively using or preparing to use SOA, while the remaining 32% were simply investigating it for their business.

The survey interviewed 147 SAP user organisations globally, providing a snapshot of members understanding of SOA and highlighting how UK companies are well behind when it comes to adopting it. Globally, one-third (33%) of organisations said that they were actively using SOA, while a further 27% were investigating implementing it.

SOA stands to make the life of a CIO easier, however it is clear many UK organisations either dont understand it or are unsure how to implement it, said Alan Bowling, chairman of the SAP UK & Ireland User Group. It is clear that many organisations still need to be educated about how to implement SOA and its potential benefits. SOA can significantly simplify application and business process integration. However, it is important that SOA is well managed and governed otherwise organisations will find that their applications and services turn into a tangled web resembling Spaghetti Junction.

The SAP UK & Ireland User Group will be having a dedicated stream on SOA at its Annual User Conference, which is taking place in London, 10-11 November 2008. As well as incorporating the SAP SOA Bootcamp, the stream will include a customer presentation from Pilkington Glass, where the company will describe its success and experiences adopting SOA.

Enterprise SOA or SAP SOA is a great way to get into SOA, but most organisations simply dont know enough about it. Its understandable that organisations might be nervous about SOA, but by taking the Enterprise SOA or SAP SOA route organisations can adopt SOA while still keeping good governance in place, Bowling concluded.

For more information go to: http://www.sapusers.org/conference2008/