http://www.soamag.com The SOA Magazine is a monthly online publication provided by SOA Systems Inc. and Prentice Hall/PearsonPTR and is officially associated with the "Prentice Hall Service-Oriented Computing Series from Thomas Erl." SOA en-us Copyright 2006-2008, SOA Systems Inc. http://www.soamag.com/I14/0108-2.asp Organizations without a sound strategy for SOA adoption risk being outpaced and outperformed by competitors who are better equipped to serve customers, seize opportunities, and respond to change. While SOA brings new challenges that must be addressed and new complexities that must be managed, when done right, SOA can accelerate growth and mitigate risk, ultimately delivering significant competitive advantages. This article raises important considerations and describes key steps to ensuring the successful adoption and governance of SOA via strategic planning. It explores how pilot projects can be effectively utilized to help phase SOA into enterprises to demonstrate value and inspire stakeholders. This is then further supplemented with descriptions of proven governance disciplines that, when applied help extend the functions and prolong the lifespan of service-oriented environments. SOA http://www.soamag.com/contributors/bio-mlajeunesse.asp#When:07.01.08