Picking up where it left off in 2004 with its distributed computing plans, IBM introduced a new service to help companies build and deploy service-oriented architectures

Picking up where it left off in 2004 with its distributed computing plans, IBM introduced a new service to help companies build and deploy service-oriented architectures (SOA). The new Service Oriented Modeling and Architecture (SOMA) is a methodology to help businesses implement an SOA, or distributed computing plan, that can tie business processes to underlying applications through services. SOAs, which often use Web services to conduct transactions, are becoming popular among companies that want to re-use code and other assets in order to cut costs and deliver more efficient business processes via the Internet. The end goal of an SOA is to help customers integrate information and applications among customers, partners and suppliers. IBM's SOMA also aims to grant businesses greater visibility into their business processes. As part of SOMA, IBM's component business modeling group is looking to help companies figure out which business processes provide strategic differentiation over competitors. Clients who lack the wherewithal to scale up rapidly can use SOMA to expand their businesses, IBM said, citing a survey of CEOs that said growth is now the top priority, eclipsing cost cutting.