John Hagel has an interesting and comprehensive post SOA Vs Web2.0 . He's analysis (on top of his many previous posts) isolates in great detail a number of the architectual/technical reasons why SOA isn't, to date, as successful/prolific as Web2.0 (Implying that SOA is of course the Enterprise's Web2.0).

I think one must look at the motivation to really grok this whole meme, I think that motivation is the key, rather than architecture or technology. John is picking up the signal when he talks about the connection of resources :

"When you talk to SOA proponents today, you will hear a lot about connecting applications and databases, but not a lot about connecting people together and helping to support their interactions with each other. In contrast, Web 2.0 advocates put a lot more emphasis on the opportunity to connect people together and to support their collaborative efforts. Web 2.0 certainly also addresses issues of connecting applications and data, but Web 2.0 is distinctive in the social dimension that it explicitly addresses."

Heres my point :

Web 2.0 creations are often the result of entrepreneurs that believe they can create a web based product that is better for clients than those that currently exist (or not). They are driven by the belief that armed with AJAX a Purple Cow and bags of customer centric participation and passion mixed with a little difference and lots of sweat, that they can change the world (they can)! Trouble is that that kind of high octane mixture responsible for the Web 2.0 motivation is a little harder to find in your average enterprise (about as common as rocking horse sh*t in my experience). So the question that needs answering is how do you engender that sort of motivation within the enterprise in order that the enterprise re-invents itself from the inside out like the net has with Web 2.0.

I do not believe for one minute it wil come from the top down via some grand SOA architecture. The likelyhood is that it will emerge from the bottom up and middle out of the enterprise. It will be more organic and no one will give a flying f*ck whether or not it's 'Light-weight' because it will just make things work better in the enterprise for the participants.

If any Enterprises are reading this here is my recipe :

"Stop listening to those big old school I.T. dinosaurs and starting innovating from the inside out with passion, you can do it better than they ever can. Listen to your participants (web 2.0 word for clients, employees and suppliers), find out what they want and how better to deliver things and work it out. And maybe if you can't find enough heroes inside the business employ some new ones, they are easy to spot, they have skills, opinions and passion in bags, just check out the open source communities if you want examples..."

Oh and please stop using that word 'intranet', there is no intranet any more there is only 'internet' or 'the net'. Intranets are the problem not the solution, the solution is the 'net'.

Sorry daily rant over

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