SOA (service-oriented architecture), we agree, is the way of the future. We'll build loosely coupled Web services now and wire them up into composite systems later. The benefits are clear: scalability, OS and language neutrality, easy integration. But as "later" starts to resolve into a date like 2003, or 2004, it's also becoming clear that SOA raises challenging issues. How, for example, do you monitor, test, and debug a distributed system when only some of its components are under your direct control? [Full story at InfoWorld.com.]
Former URL: http://weblog.infoworld.com/udell/2003/02/03.html#a592