Build to last. Build for change. In the past, the motto for application developers was "build to last." Unfortunately, by the time some applications were deployed, the business processes that would use those applications had radically changed. That is one of the reasons SOA initiatives are so popular. It offers a way for enterprise applications to be flexible and responsive to changing business needs.

But with such a high level of change, you need a way to manage it. Which is where SOA Governance comes in. Governance can specify your policies, standards and responsibilities in addition to providing a way for team members to communicate and work together.

In today's presentation, Greg Hodgkinson started with the reasons for SOA governance and then led us through the experiences of the fictional Acme Ltd. company starting its first SOA initiative for its supply chain systems. Needless to say, there were challenges along the way, but SOA goverance tools and procedures helped Acme find the road to success.

Addressing SOA Governance might also be your next step. In this "build for change" world, you need governance tools and objectives to measure your progress, your effectiveness, and your successes.