Budget cut? Bring on Guerrilla SOA!

Alistair Bathgate responded to Dave Linthicum's post on SOA being on the budget chopping block at some companies with the observation that the managements of many companies -- which famously think short-term anyway -- may become really obsessive about immediate returns on projects (emphasis mine):

"There is no point in demonstrating that your $25M investment will pay back handsomely over 10 years. You must find ways of proving that your project will deliver incremental short-term benefits so the longer term project funds itself and delivers ongoing business value as well."

Dave agrees that "even during good times demonstrating short term tactical ROI, along with longer term strategic ROI, is just a good idea to keep the SOA momentum moving along."

Perhaps, in companies that may get hamstrung by budget issues, the time is ripe for Guerrilla SOA -- which focuses on short-term wins on specific projects, versus attempting more grandiose rollouts that get the unwanted attention of corporate bean-counters. Guerrilla SOA is all about well-targeted, lightweight engagements to address specific business problems.

Mashups, SaaS and Web 2.0 can be tools in the Guerilla SOA arsenal. For those looking for tips on how to operate "under the radar" of the suits, Jim (World Wide) Webber shows you how to be stealthy yet productive in this video.