SOA: first or final cut?

Just as economists don't agree on how the economy will do in 2008, the picture is murky as to whether SOA would be seen as an instrument for cost cutting or something to be cut if corporate budgets were to be trimmed. In a new post, Dave Linthicum makes the observation that "there seem to a few companies that are cutting their SOA efforts due to the softening of the economy," noting that they regard SOA as "special projects" that are among the first to get cut.

As I observed in a post just a couple of days ago, Brenda Michelson spoke to various SOA Consortium members, and the consensus was that SOA efforts would press on through a rocky economy, and even help to better streamline operations.

Are SOA projects typically viewed as overhead, or are they seen as an effective mechanism to help organizations better manage costs? How would your company view SOA if it had to trim its IT budget? Take the poll and share your thoughts.

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