SOA Data Governance

Service-Oriented Architecture [SOA]

Service-Oriented Architecture [SOA] is fast becoming the de facto standard for designing and creating reusable business rules and logic that can be shared across distributed enterprise platforms.

Well-executed SOA implementations help bridge the gap between enterprise architecture and business strategy.

This is facilitating a closer alignment of IT and the business, whilst implementing the robust reuse of existing technology and application code with unprecedented agility and cost effectiveness.

Key SOA Implementation Issuse

IT Complexity - Rapid deployment of distributed cross-platform Web services and SOA architecture is resulting in an array of unmanageable complexities for IT managers and architects. Without adequate data control, SOA can quickly lead to trouble.

Data Interrelationships - SOA has driven business logic shared outside traditional silos. The wider enterprise impact of any given piece of code [or service] is often unknown at the time of implementation. One change to a service may impact many business segments. It is imperative, therefore, for the organisation to fully comprehend service interrelationships that may solve multiple business problems and contain complex domains of ownership.

Architecture - Such operational complexities inherent in SOA are extremely difficult to incorporate into an enterprise architectural layer that is solid, reliable, secure and scalable. SOA governance must be introduced into all IT and corporate governance portfolios. The failure to implement SOA governance will result in fragile and unmanageable architecture. In turn, this will lead to an unsupported, distributed mesh of software components that offer poor business support.

Project Integration - Too often, raw and undocumented SOA services emerge from several, independent projects, each charted to solve mutually exclusive business problems.

An enterprise that fails to realize the importance of an effective SOA governance structure will also fail to greatly benefit from SOA.

SOA governance creates a higher return from all SOA investments by establishing lucid communication channels, ones where effectiveness and accountability can be measured and quantified.

SOA Projects

Undertstanding enterprise wide, holistic data governance requirements is a vital step in SOA project planning.

Poor governance practices during planning and development phases will lead to projects that fail to fully serve the business or maximize/leverage current IT investments.

SOA governance facilitates relationships between stakeholders [service consumers and providers] and to ensure that all services are managed in compliance with a company's standards, policies and business strategies.

Governance defining roles, rights and responsibilities can be the difference between SOA success and failure.

SOA Governance Requirements

IT architects and managers must employ a proper means of visual analysis of their SOA environments to effectively promote:

robust code reuse
consistent performance and security
broad support for governance policies
acceptable business continuity
centrally managed service level agreements

This must apply across business lines, and throughout service lifecycles.

SOA Metadata

Data governance as it relates to SOA metadata becomes critical as the primary means to managing the inventory of services [and provisioning new ones]. Metadata information and attributes that describe services must be compiled, maintained and stored in a consistent, secure and transparent manner.

General rules and guidelines relating to important attributes and behaviors of services must be unified and codified into enforceable and well-defined policies.

SOA Data Governance Tools

Major software vendors are now incorporating the mechanisms of SOA governance into their product suites. Software/tools are also available to help organisations model, map, monitor, manage and govern SOA topographies and infrastructures.

This is driving maximum communication and code reuse, and significantly decreasing both architecture and business risks.

Data Governance tools help managers track and monitor SOA infrastructure and control important components of change management such as versioning and impact analysis.

They also ensure that SOA governance [care and diligence] is applied to the SOA repository and registry.

A registry promulgates available deployed services and the rules for their use.
The repository assists in managing services and their associated artifacts throughout their full lifecycle - planning, development, deployment.

Metadata about services captures information relating to service interactions and relationships, as well as important related details such as policies, procedures and milestone information.

SOA Governance Standards

SOA governance standards are still evolving, and there is yet a single industry-accepted standard - ensuring continuity of business operations, limiting SOA security exposure, managing and planning dependencies, reducing integration problems, minimizing risks and liabilities and beyond.

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