Selling SOA: Stating the obvious

Successful IT projects, including Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) initiatives, begin with a clear rationale designed to help an organization solve specific business or technology problems. Practitioners frequently ignore this obvious point, which causes many failed projects.

With this in mind, I had mixed reactions reading a post by David Linthicum on How to Sell SOA. David says the following:

So, how do you sell? Let's look at a few key concepts, including:

1. Shining light on existing limitations
2. Creating the business case
3. Creating the execution plan
4. Delivering the goods

From one perspective, it's easy to dismiss this general advice as a form of insipid business pablum applicable to any large organizational endeavor whether IT or not. However, David's discussion of these basics suggests the degree to which many enterprises misunderstand SOA. Failure remains an integral part of the entire IT landscape, so David is absolutely correct in offering such admonitions.

Selling expensive SOA projects depends on defining a business case, developing a workable implementation plan, and presenting benefits to senior management. However, there's also a fine line between selling hyped-up concepts and offering something practical and achievable within stated times and budgets.

How do you sell SOA internally? Please share your thoughts.