How can Cloud Computing and SOA be leveraged together?
5th Oct 2016
How can Cloud Computing and SOA be leveraged together?
If you've spent any time at all either investigating cloud computing developments or actually employing cloud computing in your day to day tasks, then you should know about how 'all-inclusive' it can be. So, it should be a no-brainer that business-centric Service Oriented Architectures would perfectly go hand-in-hand with cloud computing at large, right? This actually seems to be the way that things are headed; there's been a lot of rampant discussion recently about how cloud computing might be able to leverage the assets of (the many) SOA's that are currently available.
Before we get too ahead of ourselves here, let's discover what a SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) actually does. If you own (or have owned) a business then you are probably aware of the fact that most of the daily operations in an organization follow a workflow. This (workflow) is a set of individual operations that are performed to produce some quantifiable results, data or action(s). A classic example of a business intensive workflow would be a bank providing check processing and imaging services both inside and outside of their organization. A Service Oriented Architecture is essentially an infrastructure that's designed to automate these workflows and process them on a continuous basis. These workflow tasks are usually not the kinds of things that employees want, or even should be doing in the first place; software never gets tired or makes mistakes either. SOA's have in recent years become an integral part of many businesses daily operations and have literally changed the way we do business in the 21st century.
For one thing, cloud computing is perfect deployment / delivery method for all manner of SOA. Just imagine, as a business owner, being able to pick and choose from a bevy of SOA's that were specifically designed and tailored to suit the needs of your business and industry. Since it would seem that an overwhelming majority of cloud computing users are in fact, businesses and governmental organizations, it only makes sense that something should be done to provide them with what they're after.
In most cases, the average business or governmental group will make excellent use of the automated functions that specific SOA's can provide; in many ways, they might prove to be more integral than cloud computing itself. In other words, an organization can perform daily operations without the assistance of cloud computing and get by; but the functions of a SOA could be considered necessary in most cases. This is not to say that cloud computing isn't a step up and forward in many regards (because it most certainly is), it simply means that the activities handled by SOA's make it possible for businesses to do their work faster, more efficiently, with less errors as well as potentially handle a much larger work load.
With all the obvious benefits that are present when you pair SOA with Cloud Computing, you would think that every major cloud computing service provider would be jumping at the chance to integrate. While there are at least a few cloud-centric developers looking at new ways to marry specific SOA to the service packages that they offer, there should be more interested parties devoting time and energy to this endeavor. One of the hindrances to achieving a union between cloud services and the various SOA that are available, is the simple fact that most SOA's are not designed to be compatible with cloud computing infrastructure en masse. Additionally, those cloud computing service providers and developers that are actively seeking to unite with SOA might have to sift through licensing nightmares as well.
Perhaps a good place to start for most cloud provider organizations is to begin looking closely at the various SOA's out there, what they're used for, and then begin designing cloud service packages around them. There are two immediate benefits to draw upon here; one, most businesses that require a SOA will be much more inclined to transition to the cloud since you are providing them with something that they require. The simple fact of the matter is that businesses can make immediate use of a SOA; cloud computing? Yes, but that takes time and energy; it's probably better to lure them in with a service that they can quickly integrate and begin getting immediate results with. Two; designing a cloud service package around a SOA gives one the opportunity to create specific packages for certain types of businesses and industries. As a cloud computing provider or broker, you stand a much greater chance of selling your services to prospective clients if you are offering them packages that were designed to suit their specific needs and requirements.
Perhaps the widespread integration of cloud computing and SOA's isn't going to happen in the near future; we should still keep it in mind as a means to both expanding the cloud and increasing its potential bag of tricks, so to speak. The fact remains that businesses have spoken, most require the duties provided by SOA's; does it really matter how they are deployed? Given the option, it is entirely logical to assume that most organizations would jump at the opportunity to implement a new SOA and potentially save additional capital through the adoption of Cloud Computing. Whether or not the service providers can rise to the challenge however, remains to be seen.
If you've spent any time at all either investigating cloud computing developments or actually employing cloud computing in your day to day tasks, then you should know about how 'all-inclusive' it can be. So, it should be a no-brainer that business-centric Service Oriented Architectures would perfectly go hand-in-hand with cloud computing at large, right? This actually seems to be the way that things are headed; there's been a lot of rampant discussion recently about how cloud computing might be able to leverage the assets of (the many) SOA's that are currently available.
Before we get too ahead of ourselves here, let's discover what a SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) actually does. If you own (or have owned) a business then you are probably aware of the fact that most of the daily operations in an organization follow a workflow. This (workflow) is a set of individual operations that are performed to produce some quantifiable results, data or action(s). A classic example of a business intensive workflow would be a bank providing check processing and imaging services both inside and outside of their organization. A Service Oriented Architecture is essentially an infrastructure that's designed to automate these workflows and process them on a continuous basis. These workflow tasks are usually not the kinds of things that employees want, or even should be doing in the first place; software never gets tired or makes mistakes either. SOA's have in recent years become an integral part of many businesses daily operations and have literally changed the way we do business in the 21st century.
For one thing, cloud computing is perfect deployment / delivery method for all manner of SOA. Just imagine, as a business owner, being able to pick and choose from a bevy of SOA's that were specifically designed and tailored to suit the needs of your business and industry. Since it would seem that an overwhelming majority of cloud computing users are in fact, businesses and governmental organizations, it only makes sense that something should be done to provide them with what they're after.
In most cases, the average business or governmental group will make excellent use of the automated functions that specific SOA's can provide; in many ways, they might prove to be more integral than cloud computing itself. In other words, an organization can perform daily operations without the assistance of cloud computing and get by; but the functions of a SOA could be considered necessary in most cases. This is not to say that cloud computing isn't a step up and forward in many regards (because it most certainly is), it simply means that the activities handled by SOA's make it possible for businesses to do their work faster, more efficiently, with less errors as well as potentially handle a much larger work load.
With all the obvious benefits that are present when you pair SOA with Cloud Computing, you would think that every major cloud computing service provider would be jumping at the chance to integrate. While there are at least a few cloud-centric developers looking at new ways to marry specific SOA to the service packages that they offer, there should be more interested parties devoting time and energy to this endeavor. One of the hindrances to achieving a union between cloud services and the various SOA that are available, is the simple fact that most SOA's are not designed to be compatible with cloud computing infrastructure en masse. Additionally, those cloud computing service providers and developers that are actively seeking to unite with SOA might have to sift through licensing nightmares as well.
Perhaps a good place to start for most cloud provider organizations is to begin looking closely at the various SOA's out there, what they're used for, and then begin designing cloud service packages around them. There are two immediate benefits to draw upon here; one, most businesses that require a SOA will be much more inclined to transition to the cloud since you are providing them with something that they require. The simple fact of the matter is that businesses can make immediate use of a SOA; cloud computing? Yes, but that takes time and energy; it's probably better to lure them in with a service that they can quickly integrate and begin getting immediate results with. Two; designing a cloud service package around a SOA gives one the opportunity to create specific packages for certain types of businesses and industries. As a cloud computing provider or broker, you stand a much greater chance of selling your services to prospective clients if you are offering them packages that were designed to suit their specific needs and requirements.
Perhaps the widespread integration of cloud computing and SOA's isn't going to happen in the near future; we should still keep it in mind as a means to both expanding the cloud and increasing its potential bag of tricks, so to speak. The fact remains that businesses have spoken, most require the duties provided by SOA's; does it really matter how they are deployed? Given the option, it is entirely logical to assume that most organizations would jump at the opportunity to implement a new SOA and potentially save additional capital through the adoption of Cloud Computing. Whether or not the service providers can rise to the challenge however, remains to be seen.
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