How service-oriented is your infotech architecture?

BEA Systems, which makes Java-based software products to manage large enterprises' IT infrastructure, has put together a self-assessment questionnaire for companies to find out how service-oriented their IT architecture is.

Service orientation allows companies to use up-and-running infrastructure of other firms rather than invest in their own.

For instance, a store selling leather jackets can plug into e-bay's portal to use its payment gateway rather than building its own, says Michael F Smith, a director with BEA Systems Hong Kong Limited, the APac business of the US based company.

This has two advantages: a person who wants jackets finds an easy way to buy one, at e-bay or other portals like it, and the jacket company gets to focus on making very good jackets, rather than worry about how good its payment gateway is. So, enabling companies to do this will be big business in the coming years, up to $20 billion, says Smith.

Verticals including financial services and telecom utilities are finding service oriented architecture attractive, he says.

BEA has an R&D staff of 150 in India. The firm makes money licensing its products, such as BEA WebLogic. It works with system integrators like Infosys, Wipro and TCS and others like MPhasiS and Opus who make products using its software, said Maya Culas, manager of marketing programmes at BEA Systems India.