Welcome Letter from Adam
Welcome to the latest issue of Avanade Advisor, our forum for sharing insight and best practices with colleagues and customers worldwide.
The topic of service-oriented architectures (SOA) has received much attention in the business world in the last few years. With so many different views on SOA, how can organizations tell if a move to SOA will positively impact their bottom line? And, what are the different ways that organizations can use SOA to improve their business?
This month, we explore these questions and look at the different approaches that organizations can take to maximize the benefits from implementing SOA in their own environments. One example we look at this month is the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, which approached SOA as a way to revitalize a legacy clinical records system and create a comprehensive Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system capable of pulling information from multiple locations to give physicians a more complete view of patient information, thereby improving the quality and speed of patient care.
How does one approach an SOA implementation? We address common questions that arise when considering a migration to SOA, and provide a simple, four-step process to manage potential implementation challenges and ensure a successful deployment.
We also explore how SOA can increase the agility and flexibility of your existing application portfolio and lower maintenance costs, by providing a way to connect your applications and streamline the entire portfolio.
In addition, we provide our own view on what service oriented architectures can accomplish and examine several different ways in which businesses can use SOA to bring improvements to their bottom line.
Thank you for your time and interest. As always, we look forward to receiving your comments – simply send us an e-mail to editor@avanadeadvisor.com.
Executive VP, Sales and Marketing
First Up
SOA-Based Electronic Medical Records System Improves Quality of Cancer Care
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center—one of the world’s largest
cancer centers—has a mission: to eliminate cancer. A breakthrough electronic medical records
system is helping them make strides by empowering physicians to make the best possible
decisions about patient care.
more…
Ask the Expert
Four Steps to SOA Success
For many businesses looking to take advantage of the benefits of SOA, the challenges can
seem insurmountable. Where do you start? What technology support will be needed? Are your
systems compatible? How will the services evolve? Following these four simple steps can help
you plan for an SOA implementation and ensure it stays on the right track.
more…
Peer-to-Peer
Using SOA to Streamline your Application Portfolio
Some companies find their application portfolio to be an obstacle to implementing new
business initiatives when those applications do not easily integrate and are costly to maintain.
SOA accommodates changing business processes and can streamline application portfolios,
introducing the flexibility needed to keep up with the pace of business.
more…
Avanade Viewpoint
Service-Oriented Architecture: The Need for a New Architecture
Legacy information technology solutions that many organizations have created over the past
decades may no longer suffice to meet contemporary business needs. Yet competitive pressure
means companies must quickly recognize and respond to new opportunities and challenges.
Fortunately, technology trends, such as service-oriented architectures, offer productive ways
to solve the problems facing business and IT.
more…