Do We Need ServiceOriented Architecture

1
Do We Need Service-Oriented Architecture?
Acme Energy

• Richard Childs
• Assignment 2 Case Study IT Architecture
• Technology Trends
• ACS No. 3013008

2
Agenda
Acme Energy

• What is an IT Architecture for?
• Our Organisational goals
• Is Our current Architecture underpinning these
  goals?
• What are the challenges for our current
  architecture?
• What is the solution?
• What will the solution provide?
• How will the solution be provided?
• How Does the Industry view SOA?
• Summary

3
What is an IT Architecture for?
Acme Energy

• Framework for technology solutions that underpins
  business requirements.
• With the right architecture, IT systems will be
  developed and implemented so they help us achieve
  our organisational goals.
• What are our organisational goals.?

4
Our Organisational Goals
Acme Energy

• Satisfy our customers.
• Protect and develop productive workforce.
• Meet environmental responsibilities.
• Meet shareholder needs for business value.

5
Is Our current Architecture underpinning these
goals?
Acme Energy

• No!!
• Too many projects are not achieving business
  value
• High cost of implementation
• IT Organisation seen as slow to react to business
  changes
• Processes are designed to fit the IT systems
  rather than the other way around

6
What are the challenges for our current
architecture?
Acme Energy

• Majority of applications do not integrate with
  others
• Results in costly new implementations to build
  point to point connectivity between systems
• Functions in applications quite often need to be
  rewritten in other applications when connectivity
  is not possible
• Leads to complicated software systems that are
  difficult to maintain and enhance
• Applications cannot easily be changed to meet
  changing business process needs
• Acme Energy has over 1700 registered applications
  with approximately 20 functional duplication

7
What are the challenges for our current
architecture?
Acme Energy

• Lack of business alignment for existing
  applications
• Functional compliance to AASB139 was very
  difficult to integrate into existing systems.
  Other critical projects had to wait while this
  was completed
• Business critical functions are embedded in
  applications such as Meter Billing System (MBS)
  and SAP CCS. These are difficult to change
  without significant customisation
• Function follows form instead of form following
  function

8
What is the solution?
Acme Energy

• SOA addresses the business challenges by allowing
  individual applications to be seen as common
  services by other applications via a standard
  interface

9
What will the Solution Provide?
Acme Energy

• Plug and Play ability with services to underpin
  business processes as they change
• Functions in applications do not need to be
  duplicated. They will now be reusable.
• There will be substantial improvement in business
  alignment with IT provided services.
• Business innovation will be greatly increased due
  to new ability to develop business intelligence

10
How will the solution be provided?
Acme Energy

• SOA allows business processes to be easily
  created or changed by providing easy access to
  functions through common web-services

11
How will the solution be provided?
Acme Energy

• Example of current functional access

Meter Reading Service
Meter Billing System
SAP Customer Care and Service
Validate and process
Capture Reading
Billing
Invoicing
Payments

• Limitations
• Duplicated data between systems
• No overall monitoring of process so it is
  difficult to improve

12
How will the solution be provided?
Acme Energy

• Example of how SOA would make functions (or
  services) available for a business process

SAP Netweaver Portal User Interface
Web Services
Adaptor
Adaptor
Adaptor
Adaptor
Adaptor
MBS
Meter Reading Service
SAP CCS
Monitoring function (eg Business Objects
Master Database
13
How Does the Industry view SOA?
Acme Energy

• In May 2005, Computerware and Intersystems
  surveyed 100 Managers, IT Architects, Software
  Developers and Project Managers at about 75
  Australian organisations about their thoughts on
  SOA. InterSystems Australian Service Oriented
  Architecture (SOA) Survey 2005 Report
  (Intersystems, Computerware, 2005)

Reference Computerware, Intersystems, 2005,
InterSystems Australian Service Oriented
Architecture (SOA) Survey 2005 Report. Retrieved
23rd October 2005 http//www.intersystems.com.au/S
OASurveyReport/IS_SOA_SURVEY.pdf
14
How Does the Industry view SOA?
Acme Energy

• Key findings
• The average percentage of organisations
  applications currently based on SOA was 9, a
  percentage expected to increase more than
  four-fold to 43 within three years.
• 73 of organisations expected to gain Increased
  business flexibility/agility from SOA 60
  expected Lower software integration costs.
• The median expected time before receiving a
  significant benefit was two years.

15
In Summary
Acme Energy

• SOA will help align IT systems with business
  needs
• Acme Energy Management will be able to exercise
  long term business process planning
• Project costs will be reduced due to reuse of
  existing functionality
• IT system form will follow process function