'Facebook generation' driving SOA adoption

MIAMI--Software AG has its eye on the "Web 2.0 generation" to move SOA (service oriented architecture) adoptions.

Karl-Heinz Streibich, CEO of Software AG, said the need for companies to "keep up" with delivering the same performance as that of Web 2.0 apps is a driving force for SOA projects.

During his keynote speech at Software AG's Innovation World 2008 forum, Streibich said: "The huge pressure coming from the Facebook generation is a key driver for SOA adoption in enterprises."

SOA is a methodology for companies to build IT infrastructures. It is based on packaging business processes as interoperable services within the architecture, and its proponents tout the SOA as being more flexible and responsive to changing business needs as a collection of services.

Streibich said the younger employees coming into the workforce expect the same agility in the backend that they get from popular Web 2.0 sites such as Facebook.

To demonstrate this point, Software AG brought out a slew of customers who have operations online.

The Florida Community College Jacksonville, which Software AG also announced as a winner of its 2008 Innovation Awards, implemented a Web 2.0 front end for students. A spokesperson in a video presentation, said the college did so by extending existing processes made available on its SOA over the Web.

The spokesperson said enrolment has picked up by 5 percent already, and has enabled students further away to gain access to more resources.

Autotrader.com, a finalist in the competition, implemented a product suite from webMethods--acquired last year by Software AG.

In his presentation, Dan Crowe, Autotrader.com's chief product officer said Autotrader.com's platform was scaled and automated over the webMethods business process integration suite, which has brought agility to his business.

Crowe talked about how, as a Web site, agility was "imperative" to Autotrader.com's business. It is in competition with traditional media as well as big portals and other third-party automotive sites, so the competition space is changing faster than the traditional business, he said.

Serena Software last year drew the link between SOA and Web 2.0, saying an SOA would be complementary to companies intending to build enterprise application "mashups" to serve end-users.

Victoria Ho of ZDNet Asia reported from Software AG's Innovation World 2008 in Miami, Florida.