Services Thinking Extends Services Oriented Architecture Towards Services Design for Business: Deloitte

NEW YORK, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ --

    
    
    What:    "SOA What? Services Thinking Goes to Work."
    
    Who:     Mark White, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP
             Doug Shoupp, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP
             Bill Briggs, director, Deloitte Consulting LLP
    
    When:    Available immediately
    
    Where:   www.deloitte.com/us/soawhat
    
    Details: Conventional wisdom says don't lock into a plan until you
             have to. Sound advice -- especially for business-enabling
             technology. It also explains how Services Oriented Architecture
             (SOA) started in the first place.
    
             "SOA was a reaction to business' demand for their technology
             environments to respond and integrate faster, as well as be more
             flexible in meeting business requirements and market demands,"
             said Shoupp. "However, SOA lacked the ability to address and link
             to business optimization. Today, business design and optimization
             is being driven using the same principles for improving
             technology flexibility and integration.
    
             Shoupp adds, "This is triggering a shift away from traditional
             process reengineering towards services design, service modularity
             and service granularity linked directly with technology and
             organizational delivery components. Chunks instead of streams,
             with clear and solid hand-offs that deliver the control and
             flexibility that business needs today. This is what we call 
             'Services Thinking'."
    
             Briggs noted from the paper, "SOA What? Services Thinking Goes to
             Work," that Services Thinking, however, runs the risk of being
             dismissed as a technology or "plumbing" concept -- largely
             because SOA has become synonymous with Services Oriented Software
             Architecture.
    
             "Services Thinking is a business strategy with an emphasis on
             technology -not the other way around," said Briggs. "By thinking
             in terms of services, business capabilities demanding
             differentiation or high agility can be carved out and given the
             attention they deserve. And, companies can look at the technology
             supporting their business functions and make sourcing decisions
             at a very granular level -- piecing together the best parts of
             packages, custom, niche, and cloud offerings to meet their
             needs."
    
             Shoupp and Briggs cited two results companies may see by shifting
             to Services Thinking:
    
             -- As business capabilities are defined and executed via Services
                Thinking, they are delivered with an eye towards re-use and
                agility -- asking "how do we anticipate change" along with
                standard requirements and to-be design. Organizations gain the
                ability to respond to the demands of the marketplace, as well
                as recompose and re-orchestrate business services and related
                information technology services into more efficient or even
                new business offerings.
             -- As adoption of Services Thinking may grow, interaction between
                business and IT shifts towards a common language -- with an
                approach that leads with what "should be done," not what "can
                be done." IT plays an advisory role in innovation and
                planning, and the business is engaged throughout the technical
                lifecycle -- a definite step towards the elusive goal of
                aligning IT as a business partner.
    

To download a copy of the paper, please go to: www.deloitte.com/us/soawhat.

To speak with Shoupp and Briggs about Services Thinking and related issues, please contact John La Place at [email protected], or +1 212-492-4267.

About Deloitte

As used in this document, "Deloitte" means Deloitte Consulting LLP and Deloitte Services LP, separate subsidiaries of Deloitte LLP. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries.

SOURCE Deloitte Consulting LLP