http://www.zapthink.com/ZapThink :: Intelligence, Research, Analysis, and Insight on XML, Web Services and Service-Oriented Architecturesen-ushttp://www.zapthink.com/http://www.zapthink.com/templates/images/zapthinkheader.jpgCopyright 2000-2006, ZapThink, LLC. All Rights Reserved.info@zapthink.comSun, 05 Jul 2009 19:14:37 PDTdaily11970-01-01T00:00+00:00Zapthinkhttp://feedburner.google.comThis is an XML content feed. It is intended to be viewed in a newsreader or syndicated to another site.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/MZiTQXaWvRQ/news.htmlThu, 02 Jul 2009 12:46:21 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/news.html?id=2817"This integration was an enormous undertaking, Oracle has proven over the years to be able to rise to occasions like this and deliver relatively high-quality software," said Jason Bloomberg, a managing partner at ZapThink. "This offering is essentially traditional middleware: Hook everything in the enterprise up to it and it will take care of the rest of the integration story for you," Bloomberg said. "What's missing is any sort of realization that enterprise customers have already been through the SOA ring of fire and are no longer looking to middleware to drive the business value that IT should provide. Oracle's real challenge is in telling the appropriate virtualization and abstraction story."http://www.zapthink.com/news.html?id=2817http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/1hjt9FALhrY/news.htmlThu, 02 Jul 2009 11:56:19 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/news.html?id=2816One of the criticisms leveled at service oriented architecture is that the `architecture' aspect has often been overlooked. In one of his latest analyses, ZapThink's Ron Schmelzer wonders where architecture fits among all the excitement around cloud computing. "The discussion of architecture has been given short shrift in cloud computing conversations. In much the same way that the Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) conversation degenerated into a conversation about the (often unnecessary) Enterprise Services Bus (ESB), the cloud conversation is degenerating into one about the infrastructure needed to handle scalable service provider volume." Cloud providers have been more concerned with infrastructural concerns than business requirements, Ron said. "When the `architecture team' meets in these cloud providers, what problems are they aiming to solve? Business problems?" he asks. "Certainly not. ... Where's the business in all this? The answer: nowhere." As a result, Ron also pointed out that moving to the cloud will not take away the need for solid enterprise architecture go away -- it will make EA even more important.http://www.zapthink.com/news.html?id=2816http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/YLn1PPTUkIk/report.htmlWed, 01 Jul 2009 10:13:28 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/report.html?id=ZTP-0354http://www.zapthink.com/report.html?id=ZTP-0354http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/jSRMVtmB2Hk/news.htmlMon, 29 Jun 2009 12:25:53 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/news.html?id=2815Our topic this week centers on governance as a requirement and an enabler for cloud computing. We're going to talk not just about IT governance, or service-oriented architecture (SOA) governance. It's really more about extended enterprise processes, resource consumption, and resource-allocation governance. Here to help us understand the need for governance as an enabler or a roadblock to wider cloud adoption are our analyst guests this week. We're here with David A. Kelly, president of Upside Research; Ron Schmelzer, senior analyst from ZapThink; and, Joe McKendrick, independent analyst and ZDNet blogger. Let's start with you Ron. You've been involved with SOA best practices and methodologies for several years. Before that, you were a thought leader in the Web services space, and governance has been part and parcel of these advances. Now, we're taking it to an extended environment, a larger, more complex environment. Tell me, if you would, your top five reasons why you think services governance is critical or not for this move to a larger services environment. Ron Schmelzer: You're making me count on a Friday before a long weekend. Let me see if I can do that. I'm glad you brought up this topic. It's really interesting. We just did a survey of the various topics that people are interested in for education, training, and stuff like that. The No. 1 thing that people came back with was governance. That's indicative and telling at a few levels. The first thing people realize is that simply building and putting out services -- whether they're on the local network or in the cloud or consuming services from the cloud -- don't provide the benefit, unless there's some control. As people always say, nobody really wants to be ungoverned, but nobody wants to have a government. The thing that prevents freedom from going into chaos is governance. I can list Click here to get the Free Email Design No-No's Guide from Lyris -- includes the top 10 things you need to know. the top five reasons why that is. You want the benefit of loose coupling. That is, you want the benefit of being able to take any service and compose it with any other service without necessarily having to get the service provider involved. That's the whole theory of loose coupling. The consumer and the provider don't have to directly communicate. But the problem is how to prevent people from combining these services in ways that provide unpredictable or undesirable results. A lot of the efforts in governance from the runtime prevents that unpredictability. So one, preventing chaos. ...http://www.zapthink.com/news.html?id=2815http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/V1OXwCAaulY/event.htmlFri, 26 Jun 2009 10:34:23 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/event.html?id=304Do SOA Governance Right: Get SOA Governance Training and Certification Are you struggling with making SOA work and troubled by governance concerns? Are you looking for SOA governance best practices for design-time, run-time, and change / version management? Do you want hands-on experience with SOA governance methods, tools, and frameworks before you commit to a SOA endeavor? Are you looking for a third-party credential to endorse your SOA governance knowledge? If so, then register for the two-day SOA Governance training and certification workshop offered by ZapThink. One of the biggest challenges facing the SOA marketplace is the lack of proper governance to make sure that SOA exists in a controlled environment, and not the potential chaos that can emerge from uncontrolled, dynamic consumption and composition. In this two-day workshop, you will learn in-depth, practical SOA governance methodologies, techniques, and approaches in ways that are not specific to the particular technology du-jour or an individual vendor implementation. The SOA Governance training and certification course is led by skilled instructors who not only have architectural and governance expertise, but also know-how in how to apply SOA governance technologies and frameworks into practice. If you already have an LZA credential, this course adds a SOA Governance endorsement that will further add to your knowledge and capabilites. Based on the demand we have seen in this market, the SOA governance course fills the unmet need for both SOA governance training as well as certification. Jump on board while there's still room in the class!http://www.zapthink.com/event.html?id=304http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/gh4AzBtakRc/event.htmlFri, 26 Jun 2009 10:33:54 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/event.html?id=308Do SOA Governance Right: Get SOA Governance Training and Certification Are you struggling with making SOA work and troubled by governance concerns? Are you looking for SOA governance best practices for design-time, run-time, and change / version management? Do you want hands-on experience with SOA governance methods, tools, and frameworks before you commit to a SOA endeavor? Are you looking for a third-party credential to endorse your SOA governance knowledge? If so, then register for the two-day SOA Governance training and certification workshop offered by ZapThink. One of the biggest challenges facing the SOA marketplace is the lack of proper governance to make sure that SOA exists in a controlled environment, and not the potential chaos that can emerge from uncontrolled, dynamic consumption and composition. In this two-day workshop, you will learn in-depth, practical SOA governance methodologies, techniques, and approaches in ways that are not specific to the particular technology du-jour or an individual vendor implementation. The SOA Governance training and certification course is led by skilled instructors who not only have architectural and governance expertise, but also know-how in how to apply SOA governance technologies and frameworks into practice. If you already have an LZA credential, this course adds a SOA Governance endorsement that will further add to your knowledge and capabilites. Based on the demand we have seen in this market, the SOA governance course fills the unmet need for both SOA governance training as well as certification. Jump on board while there's still room in the class!http://www.zapthink.com/event.html?id=308http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/-w9OzhitxYw/event.htmlFri, 26 Jun 2009 10:32:06 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/event.html?id=291ZapForum SOA & EA Evening Networking Event. Join a few dozen of your peers, colleagues, competitors, and pundits for networking, drinks, food, and a panel of distinguished guests on the topic of SOA. Guest hosts and panel participants to be announced shortly! We're also still looking for sponsors for this event, so if you are interested, please let us know!http://www.zapthink.com/event.html?id=291http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/ljqvAbbeq14/news.htmlThu, 25 Jun 2009 16:26:04 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/news.html?id=2814Wrong, wrong, wrong! Service-oriented integration is definitely NOT the same thing as using Web services, or, God forbid, an ESB for integration. That's more or less what a recent ZapThink column is saying this week, responding to this year's on-and-off again discussion about service-oriented integration. But to be fair, from ZapThink's perspective, everybody else is just now following up a discussion they first started seven years ago. Why would you, a busy IT Business Edge reader, revisit this somewhat pedantic issue of SOA and SOI? To be honest, I get a little sick just thinking about it, too, but, like Paul Harvey, ZapThink has "the rest of the story." And if we're all going to make informed decisions about SOA and its potential for saving your company time and money on integration - you need to know the full story. Bottom line: We've both got a duty to follow through. The facts, according to ZapThink, are these: First, a minor correction, but with a significant point: ZapThink - not Anne Thomas Manes, as I had believed - first introduced the phrase service-oriented integration. They coined the term in 2002 - as a means of - and here's the key point - differentiating integration by loosely coupled services from Web services adapters. It's also different from using an ESB for integration. In fact, they see SOI as requiring a service-oriented architecture:http://www.zapthink.com/news.html?id=2814http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/YtIGQc3UE3c/news.htmlThu, 25 Jun 2009 15:51:27 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/news.html?id=2813ZapThink Announces Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) Training in Singapore Licensed ZapThink Architect (LZA) Boot Camp to Run August 11-14, 2009 BALTIMORE, MD June 24, 2009 -- ZapThink today announces the opening of registration for its four-day Licensed ZapThink Architect (LZA) Boot Camp, providing in-depth, hands-on training and certification on Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) and taught by notable SOA expert Jason Bloomberg. The LZA SOA Boot Camp will run from August 11 to 14, 2009 in Singapore. "Companies are tired of all the hype surrounding Web Services and SOAs, and are finding it difficult to learn what they really need to know from vendor-centric conferences and training," said Ronald Schmelzer, senior analyst with ZapThink, LLC. "IT professionals want to learn from their peers about what it really takes to put together a well-designed SOA, and desire third-party credentials to assert their SOA knowledge. The Licensed ZapThink Analyst boot camps give Enterprise Architecture practitioners the SOA education and credentials they've been waiting for." In this four-day SOA training course, attendees will get hands-on experience and expertise in how to implement the latest SOA best practices and methods. Learn about Service modeling, Service domains, SOA infrastructure planning, SOA testing, SOA Quality, Governance, and Management, developing a SOA Roadmap, SOA ROI and Business Planning, SOA Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and metrics, SOA security and performance optimization, SOA policy management, Composite Services and Business Process, Service-Oriented Business Applications (SOBA), and Mashups. Hear about notable SOA security case studies and get hands-on guidance in making SOA work. And, once you complete this course you will become a credentialed Licensed ZapThink Architect. The LZA SOA training program in Singapore offers the following benefits: An annual credential that allows ZapThink to endorse individual enterprise architects as having specific SOA skills Posting onto an LZA Directory that enables companies to research and locate architects to assist with their SOA-specific needs An optional listing in ZapThink's Architect Resource Center (ARC), an online resource promoting architects available for hire or consultation by end-users Opportunity to contribute to ZapThink's online research and content Participation in exclusive annual LZA-only conferences, events and activities. Increasingly, individuals like are looking to get the backing of a qualified third-party organization that can endorse their existing SOA skills as well as enable continuous improvement, enhanced networking with those looking for architecture resources, or enhance their current SOA-enabled careers. Through its LZA program, ZapThink is filling the unmet need for knowledge and credentials in this area. For more information and to register for an LZA Boot camp, visit http://bit.ly/osHrY. Early bird discounts are available for a limited time. Seats are limited to only 45 people per LZA boot camp, and ZapThink expects certain boot camp dates and locations to sell out.http://www.zapthink.com/news.html?id=2813http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/aFJqiW_YzFc/report.htmlWed, 24 Jun 2009 10:44:42 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/report.html?id=WP-0178The current economic downturn has shifted the focus of most organizations from business growth to a simple survival mode. Chief Information Officers are spending more time on difficult cost-cutting decisions than on being more competitive and responding to business change. At the same time, these same businesses predict that Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is a critically important tool for helping companies deal with the crisis, since it helps avoid redundant capabilities, reduce IT costs, improve time to market, and position the organization for success once the economy improves. The question then is what should companies focus on to survive these times while at the same time make the right IT investments to become more competitive when the good times are back. These practices include transparency, a ruthless focus on return on investment, and increased emphasis on governance. Choosing the right tools for SOA Governance that enable organizations to manage assets, promote systematic reuse, and maintain quality in a cost-effective manner is an essential part of not just surviving the downturn, but positioning the organization for long-term success.http://www.zapthink.com/report.html?id=WP-0178http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/lAZ0tcjvqJs/news.htmlTue, 23 Jun 2009 17:13:35 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/news.html?id=2812Finally, for those of you struggling more with SOA than data integration, the SOA research and advisory firm, ZapThink, is offering a free webinar this week on "Lightweight SOA in a Down Economy." Analyst Jason Bloomberg will look at how an iterative, process-driven approach to SOA can help companies reduce costs while increasing agility. He'll also discuss moving ahead with SOA "on a super-tight budget" and lightweight SOA governance.http://www.zapthink.com/news.html?id=2812http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/uzymEqvO1vY/news.htmlTue, 23 Jun 2009 12:44:43 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/news.html?id=2810Video of ZapThink's presentation at Software AG's SOA Summit. If implementing SOA is like building a house, then data are the foundation. Without key best practices for accessing, abstracting, and managing data, the business Services and the processes that depend upon them can come crashing down. Furthermore, the essential Service design best practice of selecting the proper granularity of a Service interface depends in large part upon the underlying data as well. This session outlines the data issues all SOA architects must be aware of as they plan their SOA implementation, as well as a look at the semantic challenges that SOA brings to the fore.http://www.zapthink.com/news.html?id=2810http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/NCon0Fb1XBQ/news.htmlTue, 23 Jun 2009 12:44:28 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/news.html?id=2811Video of ZapThink's presentation at Software AG's SOA Summit. Understanding policies in the SOA context and how to create, communicate, and enforce them is critical to SOA success. In particular, architects must understand which policies are relevant across the Service lifecycle from design time to run time to change time. This session provides practical advice on how to handle policies as part of a SOA governance initiative, and provides an in-depth look at a case study that exemplifies key SOA governance best practices.http://www.zapthink.com/news.html?id=2811http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/8xLrn_9E8Uw/news.htmlTue, 23 Jun 2009 12:38:28 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/news.html?id=2809Video of ZapThink's presentation at Software AG's SOA Summit. The word "service" has numerous meanings in the English language. Even in the context of SOA, the word "Service" could mean a Service implementation, a Service interface, or a Business Service. The core technical challenge of SOA, however, is creating and maintaining the Business Service abstraction, because Business Services are the central enabling principle of SOA. This session explains these differences of meaning in detail, and illustrates some essential techniques for buuilding the Business Service abstraction, including the critical role of the Service contract.http://www.zapthink.com/news.html?id=2809http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/ODbH37U7Uho/report.htmlMon, 22 Jun 2009 16:49:55 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/report.html?id=ZAPFLASH-2009622http://www.zapthink.com/report.html?id=ZAPFLASH-2009622http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/TbeC83FjSSk/news.htmlMon, 22 Jun 2009 15:03:47 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/news.html?id=2808Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) Networking Event Hosted by ZapThink in Washington, DC ZapThink Evening Networking Event in Washington, DC - October 1, 2009 BALTIMORE, MD June 22, 2009 - ZapThink today announces the opening of registration for its ZapForum evening networking event in Washington, DC on October 1, 2009. At ZapForum DC, dozens of experts, pundits, and influential guests will gather for an evening of networking and discussion on the topics of Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Enterprise Architecture (EA). Open to public enrollment and attendance, the ZapForum events provide a way to encourage dialogue, networking, and communication within the SOA and EA communities. "The enterprise architect and SOA communities needs more opportunities to communicate and network in a face-to-face, low cost, low pressure environment," said Ronald Schmelzer, Managing Partner with ZapThink, LLC. "ZapThink's ZapForum events provide an excellent venue and opportunity for practitioners, experts, pundits, advisors, consulting firms, vendors, and influencers to network and interact and help grow the EA and SOA industry." ZapThink is hosts its evening ZapForum networking events throughout the world. At this upcoming ZapForum event on October 1, 2009 in Washington, DC, ZapThink expects a wide range of guest experts and pundits to debate the future of SOA and emerging SOA / EA patterns and trends, including JP Morgenthal (QinetiQ), James Kobielus (Forrester), Ronald Schmelzer (ZapThink), Jason Bloomberg (ZapThink), and a special surprise guest expert. Details of the upcoming ZapForum event in Washington, DC: Date: Thursday, October 1, 2009, 5:30PM-8PM ET Location: Vidalia 1990 M Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 More info: http://bit.ly/19Ghit Information and registration is available at www.regonline.com/zapdc09. Cost for attendance is only $29 and includes food and drinks. Other planned ZapForum events worldwide include: ZapForum Boston: July 23, 2009 ZapForum DC: September 29, 2009 ZapForum Frankfurt: October 8, 2009 ZapForum London: October 15, 2009 ZapForum Sydney: November 26, 2009 For more information and to register for ZapForum events, visit www.zapthink.com/eventreg.html (http://bit.ly/ctIJ).http://www.zapthink.com/news.html?id=2808http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/WvVG0Y2p7lg/event.htmlWed, 10 Jun 2009 19:09:26 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/event.html?id=288Is SOA Dead? Well don't tell us, because us Zombies are getting together for a SOA and EA Networking event on July 23, 2009 from 5:30PM to 9PM. Join us for lively conversation, a panel of experts, and all you can drink and eat for just $29. Guests, experts, and pundits include Anne Manes, Dana Gardner, Brenda Michelson, Sandy Rogers, Jason Bloomberg, and Ronald Schmelzer. We're also still looking for sponsors for this event, so if you are interested, please let us know!http://www.zapthink.com/event.html?id=288http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/VNwlkdx-mxE/event.htmlWed, 10 Jun 2009 19:07:03 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/event.html?id=306Do SOA Governance Right: Get SOA Governance Training and Certification Are you struggling with making SOA work and troubled by governance concerns? Are you looking for SOA governance best practices for design-time, run-time, and change / version management? Do you want hands-on experience with SOA governance methods, tools, and frameworks before you commit to a SOA endeavor? Are you looking for a third-party credential to endorse your SOA governance knowledge? If so, then register for the two-day SOA Governance training and certification workshop offered by ZapThink. One of the biggest challenges facing the SOA marketplace is the lack of proper governance to make sure that SOA exists in a controlled environment, and not the potential chaos that can emerge from uncontrolled, dynamic consumption and composition. In this two-day workshop, you will learn in-depth, practical SOA governance methodologies, techniques, and approaches in ways that are not specific to the particular technology du-jour or an individual vendor implementation. The SOA Governance training and certification course is led by skilled instructors who not only have architectural and governance expertise, but also know-how in how to apply SOA governance technologies and frameworks into practice. If you already have an LZA credential, this course adds a SOA Governance endorsement that will further add to your knowledge and capabilites. Based on the demand we have seen in this market, the SOA governance course fills the unmet need for both SOA governance training as well as certification. Jump on board while there's still room in the class!http://www.zapthink.com/event.html?id=306http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/Kga9sYFiA6I/event.htmlWed, 10 Jun 2009 19:05:31 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/event.html?id=305Do SOA Governance Right: Get SOA Governance Training and Certification Are you struggling with making SOA work and troubled by governance concerns? Are you looking for SOA governance best practices for design-time, run-time, and change / version management? Do you want hands-on experience with SOA governance methods, tools, and frameworks before you commit to a SOA endeavor? Are you looking for a third-party credential to endorse your SOA governance knowledge? If so, then register for the two-day SOA Governance training and certification workshop offered by ZapThink. One of the biggest challenges facing the SOA marketplace is the lack of proper governance to make sure that SOA exists in a controlled environment, and not the potential chaos that can emerge from uncontrolled, dynamic consumption and composition. In this two-day workshop, you will learn in-depth, practical SOA governance methodologies, techniques, and approaches in ways that are not specific to the particular technology du-jour or an individual vendor implementation. The SOA Governance training and certification course is led by skilled instructors who not only have architectural and governance expertise, but also know-how in how to apply SOA governance technologies and frameworks into practice. If you already have an LZA credential, this course adds a SOA Governance endorsement that will further add to your knowledge and capabilites. Based on the demand we have seen in this market, the SOA governance course fills the unmet need for both SOA governance training as well as certification. Jump on board while there's still room in the class!http://www.zapthink.com/event.html?id=305http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/bHZgE4NNwEI/event.htmlWed, 10 Jun 2009 18:43:20 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/event.html?id=303Need SOA credentials? Get your chance at the Licensed ZapThink Architect (LZA) Boot Camp. The credentialing process itself consists of a three-day workshop structured as a means to exchange the latest SOA practices, methodologies, and artifacts, and finishes on the last day with an in-person evaluation of your capabilities for credentialing. You leave the LZA bootcamp with a credential for your efforts, and with our knowledge of your expertise.http://www.zapthink.com/event.html?id=303http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/1cn9uhssnpg/report.htmlMon, 08 Jun 2009 18:17:28 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/report.html?id=ZAPFLASH-200968http://www.zapthink.com/report.html?id=ZAPFLASH-200968http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/OZFanrXUqlA/event.htmlThu, 28 May 2009 17:37:43 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/event.html?id=302Need SOA credentials? Get your chance at the Licensed ZapThink Architect (LZA) Boot Camp. The credentialing process itself consists of a three-day workshop structured as a means to exchange the latest SOA practices, methodologies, and artifacts, and finishes on the last day with an in-person evaluation of your capabilities for credentialing. You leave the LZA bootcamp with a credential for your efforts, and with our knowledge of your expertise.http://www.zapthink.com/event.html?id=302http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/TGwyzXrRUKo/event.htmlThu, 28 May 2009 17:36:22 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/event.html?id=301Need SOA credentials? Get your chance at the Licensed ZapThink Architect (LZA) Boot Camp. The credentialing process itself consists of a three-day workshop structured as a means to exchange the latest SOA practices, methodologies, and artifacts, and finishes on the last day with an in-person evaluation of your capabilities for credentialing. You leave the LZA bootcamp with a credential for your efforts, and with our knowledge of your expertise.http://www.zapthink.com/event.html?id=301http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/j7XcTywEfgQ/event.htmlThu, 28 May 2009 17:34:38 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/event.html?id=300Need SOA credentials? Get your chance at the Licensed ZapThink Architect (LZA) Boot Camp. The credentialing process itself consists of a three-day workshop structured as a means to exchange the latest SOA practices, methodologies, and artifacts, and finishes on the last day with an in-person evaluation of your capabilities for credentialing. You leave the LZA bootcamp with a credential for your efforts, and with our knowledge of your expertise.http://www.zapthink.com/event.html?id=300http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/m347ujZXwM0/report.htmlFri, 22 May 2009 16:21:57 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/report.html?id=ZAPFLASH-2009522http://www.zapthink.com/report.html?id=ZAPFLASH-2009522http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/_ayudtJH5oA/report.htmlThu, 07 May 2009 13:03:05 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/report.html?id=ZAPFLASH-200957http://www.zapthink.com/report.html?id=ZAPFLASH-200957http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/OrvayVx2uqE/report.htmlFri, 01 May 2009 12:56:29 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/report.html?id=ZTR-WS115As the Internet continues to penetrate every aspect of our lives, both business and personal, the distinction between "Internet application" and "application" increasingly fades from view. Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) operate in the sweet spot among richness of Internet capability, richness of user interactivity, and richness of client-side computing capability. RIAs act as Service consumers as part of Service-Oriented Architecture implementations and enable Enterprise Mashups. Since ZapThink first covered the space in 2002, the RIA market has matured considerably, establishing two core submarkets: RIA environments and RIA components. Adobe Systems emerging as a leader in the RIA environments submarket with their Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR) and Flex products. Microsoft is a strong contender with their newer Silverlight technology. Open source vendors have emerged as significant players, and form a large portion of the RIA components submarket. While the RIA market should continue to grow for the next few years, it will most likely merge with other markets long term and be indifferentiable from a market sizing perspective as the RIA category increasingly overlaps with other existing desktop and Internet application categories.http://www.zapthink.com/report.html?id=ZTR-WS115http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/r7YRK0QQ5kc/report.htmlFri, 24 Apr 2009 15:33:37 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/report.html?id=WP-0177Few topics in today's organizations present such a diverse set of both business and technology challenges as governance. Governance consists ofestablishing chains of responsibility, policies that guide the organization, control mechanisms to ensure compliance with those policies, and communication and measurement amongst all parties. However, what constitutes a policy and what activities and tools the organization requires for governance are questions that have a broad diversity of answers. Nowhere are the differences among various definitions of governance more pronounced than in the contrast between lines of business and information technology (IT). From the business perspective, top executives as well as government regulators set policies for the organization, which explain in often broad terms how various individuals within the company must act in certain circumstances. From the IT perspective, however, governance covers a range of policies that span the gamut from purchasing and hiring policies all the way to firewall and coding policies and enforcing service-level agreements. Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is a well-adopted approach to organizing IT resources to better meet the changing needs of the business. Governance is essential to ensuring that organizations realize the business benefits of SOA consistently through their IT implementations. Furthermore, as such firms adopt SOA, they become better able to provide more flexible governance overall. The big win for SOA governance, therefore, extends well beyond the SOA initiative and applies the lessons of SOA governance into all parts of the organization. This paper explores the relationship among SOA, IT and corporate governance, defines the key lessons of SOA governance, and summarizes how these best practices expand well beyond SOA to deliver better governance overall.http://www.zapthink.com/report.html?id=WP-0177http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/WoziVWX2oIE/report.htmlMon, 20 Apr 2009 15:16:17 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/report.html?id=ZAPFLASH-2009421http://www.zapthink.com/report.html?id=ZAPFLASH-2009421http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Zapthink/~3/HsNEHw4_3NE/report.htmlMon, 06 Apr 2009 10:18:09 PDThttp://www.zapthink.com/report.html?id=ZAPFLASH-200946http://www.zapthink.com/report.html?id=ZAPFLASH-200946