Technology consulting firm Accenture said on July 19 that it will invest $450 million over the next three years on developing new capabilities in service-oriented architecture—further proof of the technologys momentum in big business.
As part of the investment, Accenture will create a new research lab, develop a blueprint for SOA implementation and expand SOA offerings aimed at specific industries.
SOA refers to a method wherein one application, typically Web-based, is able to enact or use functions contained in another application.
Those applications may also be Web-based, or, as is the case with many banks and insurance companies, SOA may be utilized to access functions in legacy applications.
Accenture Chief Technology Officer Don Rippert said in announcing the SOA initiative that one of the primary tasks of the new lab will be to build reusable modules to perform specific business tasks.
Another goal is to identify potential SOA problems during development and address them before SOA offerings are commercialized.