Keeping your eyes on the SOA prize

It is easy to get lost in the hype of SOA. After all, the concept makes so much sense. But despite the promise and sex appeal of SOA, CIOs would be well advised to keep their wits about them. As CIO Insight reports, many senior IT execs are finding it difficult to reap the cost benefits that they expect from their SOA investments. The reason very likely lies with the sheer complexity that SOA introduces as it collapses the silos of automation that have festered for years, if not decades, in some enterprises. InformationWeek explored just a few of the issues associated with keeping track of how applications and data move through the enterprise computing environment. The message to CIOs is clear: when all is said and done, the dollars and cents imperatives of a project will trump the bits and bytes performance of the technology. Speaking of dollars and cents, in our management section today, four CIOs weigh in on the importance of customer-facing product development and how best to bring more revenue into your company. Enjoy the issue. -Patty