SOA and Web 2.0 – Who Cares?
Every once in a while new disruptive technologies arrive on the scene that change the way IT executives and professionals think about technology usage and its impacts. These impacts may or may not be as profound as perceived. The arrival of SOA and Web 2.0 are two such disruptive technologies. They have generated so much excitement that IT professionals are once again talking them up as though the technologies can provide answers to business problems. IT cannot tell business executives that SOA or Web 2.0 is the answer. IT must explain what business value these technologies provide to the issue at hand. The objective here is to ensure that the first project selected succeeds. This means not just having a good business case, but also having a good business partner that will support the effort and that is recognized by his/her peers as a respected leader.
Experton Group has identified 5 major characteristics required for a successful project that this business executive should have.
- Shows leadership and vision
- Funds and provides critical resources
- Has a project that impacts the P & L
- Can define and stick with a small project
- Will sell the project's success to peers.
It is Experton Group's experience that all 10 characteristics are required for the project to become a first of a kind using the new technology. If any one of the elements is missing, the project may or may not succeed, but the ability to leverage the experience in additional projects becomes tougher and more often than not, there are no follow-up projects.