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 2006-2007, SOA Systems Inc. http://www.soamag.com/I11/1007-1.asp Architects and developers attempting to design, implement, and maintain a Web services-based service-oriented architecture face a bewildering array of standards and specifications. To make matters worse, these guidelines are managed by different standards bodies, and sponsored by an ever-changing array of vendors. Finally, they all continually evolve over time, adding extra complexity to the equation. The Big SOA Grid is our humble attempt at providing a comprehensive, up-to-date snapshot of all the major standards that you need to be aware of when planning or maintaining your service-oriented enterprise. (First published in The SOA Magazine Issue XI, October 2007.) SOA http://www.soamag.com/I11/1007-1.asp#When:05.10.07 http://www.soamag.com/I9/0707-2.asp Software as a Service (SaaS), Composite Applications, and Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) are three distinct platforms, each of which is garnering a tremendous amount of coverage in the technical press. In this article, I describe the fundamental concepts associated with these platforms and compare and contrast them, and then finally show a unifying vision where each has an important role to play in a progressive-minded IT organization. (First published in The SOA Magazine Issue IX, Juley 2007.) SOA http://www.soamag.com/I9/0707-2.asp#When:02.07.07 http://www.soamag.com/I6/0407-2.asp Composite applications (also known as "enterprise mashups") deliver immediate, cross-system interactive value to users while showcasing the value of your investment in a service-oriented architecture. Today's standards-based infrastructure and powerful development tools make these applications possible. These new solutions are particularly compelling in an environment standardizing on SOA. This article explores the synergy between the concepts behind composite applications and the service-orientation design paradigm. Further aspects of composite design are discussed and explored, along with guidelines that address security and performance considerations. (First published in The SOA Magazine Issue VI, April 2007.) SOA http://www.soamag.com/contributors/bio-rschneider.asp#When:04.04.07 http://www.soamag.com/I2/1106-3.asp For architects and developers in search of quick wins to demonstrate the value of a service-oriented architecture, databases present a largely-unexplored landscape of vital information. Although previously time-consuming to integrate, new tools and technologies make it easy to service-enable these information silos. The result is an elegant, cost-effective infrastructure that preserves IT investments while facilitating modern application development in support of service-orientation. (First published in The SOA Magazine Issue II, Nov/Dec 2006.) SOA http://www.soamag.com/contributors/bio-rschneider.asp#When:03.01.07