IT governance and SOA governance: little in common

People frequently put IT and SOA governance in the same bucket, and suggest that it won't be long before the two will be one in the same. However, the two actually have little in common, according to one industry commentator.

In a new post over at the EDS site, Fred Cummins observes that while IT governance is focused on managing technology, SOA governance is about managing business services.

And that's a big difference, he says. SOA governance is not simply better IT governance -- it's "enterprise governance."

I often liken SOA governance to running a homeowners, condo, or coop association. Namely, everyone (meaning lines of business across the enterprise) is an owner, and everyone agrees to abide by policies that are administered by a management group, which provides common services such as maintenance and landscaping.

In a business, all business units are owners of the SOA, but management and policy enforcement are turned over to a governance committee that worries about how the services are maintained and delivered. In theory, the IT department may be but one of many "owners."