As techies, we like to discuss and argue about the technical issues and details behind SOA and services. Unfortunately, we often forget that in the big picture, those technical issues can be nearly inconsequential. In my latest IEEE Internet Computing (IC) column, entitled "The Social Side of Services," I discuss the human side of SOA. I bring up some of the issues you'll run into in trying to get your organization to adopt service-oriented approaches, and offer some suggestions on getting SOA buy-in. Unless you can achieve such buy-in, the technical issues, while incredibly interesting, won't matter much for you.
As always, comments on this column, or any of my previous columns, are welcomed. Notably, this is my 24th column for IC, and at 6 per year, I must say the past four years have flown past. I'll soon begin work on my 25th column, and I welcome any input you might have on topics you'd like me to cover this year.
(In addition to the link to my column on DSOnline above, a PDF for the column will be available from my home page within the next few days.)