Survey: Companies struggle with SOA's hard-to-pin-down ROI

Wanted: professionals and managers that not only can talk to the business, but also devise ways to build the business case that delivers measurable return on investment.

I recently helped write up the latest Evans Data survey on SOA and Web services, which found that determining the return on investment for a SOA project is the greatest challenge facing developers working on SOA programs. The survey of almost 400 developers and managers finds that almost one in five cited ROI as the most challenging aspect, more than identifying available Web services, testing and validation, or absorbing the expense.

Savings from services reuse is the most common economic benefit in SOA projects globally, the survey also found. The issue is that ROI is something that needs to be measured from business results from areas across the enterprise. As discussed frequently at this blogsite, initial results from SOA-based efforts are delivering IT cost efficiencies, but the impact on business agility or improved business processes is tough to measure.

The survey also found that four out of five participating organizations, 84%, either have service oriented architecture in place or plan to do so within the next 12 months. For the most part, Evans Data surveys going back to 2004 have found SOA to be underway or planned in a minority of companies. It was only at the end of 2007 that this number crossed in to the majority, when 60% reported having SOA in place, or planning for adoption within the coming year.

The survey also found that companies desperately need enterprise or SOA architects with both business and technical skills. Within the next 12 months, two out of five respondents will be engaged full-time in SOA and Web services projects.  In addition, close to seven out of ten respondents report they need professionals skilled in the merging of business and technology, and would consider creating a special role within their organizations for an architect who can very precisely translate business processes into IT services.

The survey, conducted in September and October, revealed that those using Java for SOA projects are more likely to be creating applications for outside clients, while those using .NET tend more to be internal developers. Microsoft and IBM are the two companies that command developers' attention when it comes to SOA and Web services.