Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
2009 a virtualised infrastructure service which involves the virtualisation of servers,
storage, networks and security delivered to customers via an online portal as Cloud-
based services (ZDNet UK 2009). By doing so, BT is in fact offering capabili-
ties it already provides internally for its own operations and is optimizing resource
usages and selling them to generate additional revenue. Other common capabili-
ties included in the telecommunications sector are Voice over IP (VoIP) services,
call-backs and call flows, text message services such as the ones offered by Ribbit
(http://www.ribbit.com/). Going to other organisation with success stories - such as
BT's - will help them in their own adoption of the VHE and the SOA paradigm in
general.
12.4.2 Risks Associated to SOA
Changing to an open, service-oriented model comes with technical pitfalls addressed
in the VHE but that should not be overlooked by organisations. In particular, a
distributed system with multiple components that potentially span across different
organisational domains needs adequate management tools: governance is therefore
critical to control this complexity. This governance process should be based on a
well-defined set of interface guidelines and policies.
Secondly, the governance process should provide the means to manage those
policies that matter and provide tools to manage the entire lifecycle of the policies
from its initial template stages to their execution. Policies should have issuers. The
latter should not be able to repudiate the policies in order to ensure compliance with
regulations and laws both inside the enterprise, within the dynamic collaboration,
and within national and international legal frameworks.
Thirdly accurate governance should come with the identification of asset owners,
administrators and generally speaking those responsible for maintaining the serv-
ices with which an enterprise is to integrate.
Lastly, from a more technical perspective, if SOA is to be fully achieved, partic-
ular care is to be put on the definition of service interfaces and contracts. In partic-
ular, those interfaces should enable loose coupling.
12.5 Conclusion
In the past, many companies' strategic business planning relied upon forecasts of
future market conditions and customer needs over time periods of one to five years.
In the stable business environment that then existed, companies could take their
time to plan and develop a suitable IT infrastructure because market conditions
and customer needs were relatively stable. But in today's uncertain business condi-
tions, it is difficult for companies to look that far into the future, with any certainty.
Instead they have to spot trends early and respond more quickly than competitors
to new opportunities and threats. However, many enterprises are finding that their
ability to innovate and execute new business strategies is being constrained by the
inability of their IT infrastructure to support these new strategic initiatives. If so,
these customers need to transform their existing inflexible IT infrastructures into