I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s all of the above.

 SOA is an architecture paradigm and a set of principles to guide service-based applications, platforms, and even enterprises (SOE).  Cloud Computing is a computing platform paradigm that consolidates physical services into virtual shared services (infrastructure).  They don’t conflict or compete.  And they don’t enable each other.

SOA and Clouds Complement Each Other

They can, however, complement each other to create a whole that’s greater than the parts.

The confusion continues, however, and has grown to be a major topic of debate.  There are on-going discussions about the relationship between Cloud and SOA – claims that one requires the other; suppositions that SOA is dead because Cloud is the new service platform; analysis of the criteria that would determine if a business should adopt cloud or SOA.

For me, it became a serious issue recently when I was tasked by a client to address the question. I was asked to clarify the two paradigms’ value propositions, create a vision for how they can be leveraged together to create a service platform, and develop a roadmap to get there.

As an outgrowth of that initiative, I’ve started a series of posts on StrategicITArchitecture.com. My thesis is that Cloud and SOA can be combined to create the Ultimate Enterprise Service Platform. The series will frame the issues and present a set of recommendations and framework for developing a roadmap.

Check it out, if you’re interested, and please comment if you disagree, agree, or have suggestions.  You can also take a look at a scaled-down version of a Cloud/SOA presentation that I prepared for a client.

One of my favorite, recent articles in the McKinsey Quarterly is by Professor Richard Rumelt, UCLA, titled “Strategy in a structural break.” Rumelt makes a compelling case that we’re in the midst of a “structural break”, now, and suggests how we might craft strategies for seizing the inevitable opportunities that emerge from the chaos. For more about the implications to those of us who are IT leaders and professionals, see my blog at www.StrategicITArchitecture.com.

At a minimum, it may be possible to develop strategies that allow you to leverage — and maybe re-purpose — under-utilized assets already in place to create a more powerful, effective and agile IT ecosystem; minimum investment for maximum advantage. Cloud Computing – private, public, and hybrid Clouds — offers some interesting and exciting alternatives!