Real users, real results, and proven innovation with SOA

Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is a reality. Architects and developers are designing SOA environments and delivering actual solutions that are helping organizations save money, leverage existing IT resources, and provide increased value. IBM developerWorks offers a variety of resources that address some of the main issues that are part of SOA development. We've outlined specific resources to help you understand SOA and deliver your own solutions, no matter how far you have progressed along the SOA adoption path. We've also highlighted products that are specifically related to creating SOA solutions.

See what others are saying about SOA, and join the conversation yourself.

Blogs

Read blogs by industry experts, including:

• Blog: WebSphere SOA and J2EE in Practice
  Bobby Woolf, IBM WebSphere J2EE Consultant, discusses how to make best use of IBM SOA products here, and in the companion wiki.
• Blog: Service Oriented Architecture -- Off the Record
  Sandy Carter, IBM Vice President, SOA and WebSphere Marketing, Strategy, and Channels, discusses the basics, addresses key questions companies are asking, and provides entry points to SOA.

Forums

Ask questions and find answers on SOA topics, including:

• Best practices for SOA and Web services : Explore lessons learned by others in the community and share your own advice.
• All SOA and Web services discussion forums : Collaborate with this active community of architects and developers.

Podcasts

Tune in to the latest technical podcasts, including:

• Podcast: Back to Basics on SOA with Bobby Woolf
  Bobby Woolf -- a member of IBM Software Services for WebSphere -- explains what SOA is, and how it makes applications more reusable and more robust.
• Podcast: Business Process Management for IT
  Second in the 2006 WebSphere technical podcast series on developerWorks, this 29-minute podcast covers how IBM products can help you implement true "closed loop" business process management.
• Podcast: Enhancing qualities of service for WebSphere applications : This podcast follows previous discussions on IBM WebSphere Extended Deployment and its value to customers when deployed on either distributed or mainframe platforms.

SOA technical webcast series

Attend online presentations in the SOA technical webcast series, including:

• Why good architecture matters for SOA, and how to achieve it
• Taking a first step to SOA Connectivity with WebSphere MQ
• IBM WebSphere Portal, IBM WebSphere Portlet Factory, and SOA Composite Applications

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• Download trial versions of IBM products.

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Build knowledge and skills with these articles, tutorials, Redbooks, and whitepapers.

• New to SOA : Get started with SOA.
• SOA terminology overview, Part 1: Service, architecture, governance, and business terms: Learn some basic SOA terminology. In this first part of a series Bertrand Portier defines terms including service, architecture, Service-oriented architecture, governance, and business process -- and explains why they are fundamental to the success of SOA development.
• SOA terminology overview, Part 2: Development processes, models, and assets: In this second part of the series, Bertrand Portier defines terms including development processes, models, and assets.
• SOA terminology overview, Part 3: Analysis and design: Part 3 in this series continues the Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) terminology journey. We'll learn a few new terms, including service identification, specification, realization, and a bit about design principles.
• Design strategies for legacy system involvement in SOA solutions: Planning an SOA business transformation? Get design strategies, and learn how to overcome challenges.
• Build a simple C++ service component: Build and wire simple Python and Ruby service components with Apache Tuscany for C++.
• Modeling and generating Web services metadata using Rational Software Architect: Learn how to use the modeler plug-in for IBM Rational Software Architect and the Unified Modeling Language (UML) to model the standardized Web services metadata.
• Explore the role of service repositories and registries in Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA): What a difference a few letters can make: Service repositories and service registries may sound alike but each plays a very distinct role in an SOA implementation. In this article, discover the differences between the two and why your SOA should include both.
• Understanding Web Services specifications: WS-Business Process Execution Language: You have a pretty robust system of services, but what you really want is an application that makes use of them to implement your business processes. Web Services Business Process Execution Language (WS-BPEL) provides you with a standard technology for composing and combining Web services so they will do what you want at the macro level, and not just the micro level. This tutorial, the last of a seven-part series, explains how to create a process flow for your services using WS-BPEL.
• Composite business services: Using dynamic service mediation in WebSphere Business Services Fabric: Explore options for building points of variability (POV) in Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) composite business services in this series.
• Service-Oriented Architecture and Enterprise Architecture: A framework for understanding how SOA and Enterprise Architecture work together: This article provides a framework to help you understand how Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Enterprise Architecture (EA) work together. First, get a brief introduction to and definitions of SOA and EA. Then learn about the scope and focus of SOA and EA so you can effectively compare and contrast the two.
• Design strategies for legacy system involvement in SOA solutions: Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is at the heart of many business-transformation efforts. Many enterprises approach SOA transformation incrementally, using their valuable legacy IT systems to participate as service providers. Discover the challenges of such transformations, and review some design strategies to consider.
• SOA in action inside IBM: SOA-based identity management solutions: Two more SOA implementations in this series illustrate how the IBM Corporation uses SOA to deploy critical business services.

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