SOA integration: Accenture launches Innovation Centre for Oracle in Europe
By Manufacturing Business Technology Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 1/29/2008 3:12:00 PM
Recent data out of industry analyst firm IDC confirms many organizations have successfully completed small-scale service-oriented architecture (SOA) pilot projects, but not without a number of business management challenges that must be addressed before wider-scale adoption can be started—namely complexities surrounding the ability to map business processes, where to invest in SOA for maximum ROI, and how to translate the benefits of SOA from technical to business language.
According to Jan A. Duffy, research manager, Government and Health Insights, IDC EMEA, cultural and attitudinal changes are fundamental to successfully adopting SOA, and while a solid technology base is definitely a benefit, it is not enough. "The lines between IT and business are so blurred that they almost don't exist when it comes to adopting something like [SOA]. IDC fully believes that SOA is a challenge, but it is abundant with opportunities. SOA isn't just about technology—it's also about getting the organization right."
To that end, Accenture says its newly launched Innovation Centre for Oracle will be a European hub for joint business development surrounding Oracle applications, technology initiatives and offerings that solve business issues facing joint customers. Accenture is the first consultancy/systems integrator to open this type of facility on an Oracle campus in Europe.
The Innovation Centres for Oracle are part of Accenture's three-year, (U.S.)$450-million investment in SOA announced in July 2006, and part of the company's ongoing effort to help its corporate and public service clients realize value from business solutions based on Oracle technology.
Solutions developed in the Innovation Centres often are shaped into key Accenture tools, such as Accenture's SOA Reference Architecture. Built on the Oracle Fusion Middleware platform, the Reference Architecture is a part of Accenture's core delivery architecture model and contains best practices for implementing, designing, and building the platform.
