Service Oriented Architecture Field Guide for Executives

3.3. SURGICAL ADOPTION OF SOA

One important caveat to point out and something that will be explored at length later (see Chapter 5, "Is SOA Right for You?," and Chapter 9, "How Much SOA Do I Need?") is that adopting SOA is not an all-or-nothing proposition. While it is important to consider SOA adoption in order to remain current and not get left behind, this does not mean that every aspect of the enterprise should be service oriented. SOA is a disruptive technology, but blanket adoption across the board is a guaranteed way to ensure that SOA disrupts your enterprise business and may in fact result in jeopardizing certain mission-critical business processes. SOA should be adopted at a strategic level and then surgically applied at an operational and tactical level as appropriate.