When looking at the technology buying patterns in the world of SOA, there is one common thread. The Global 2000, and many government agencies, are purchasing from their existing vendors, no matter what the needs or requirements. I call these solutions purchasing "comfort technologies" since their considering the relationship with the vendor more so than the value of the technology itself. It's comforting to deal When looking at the technology buying patterns in the world of SOA, there is one common thread. The Global 2000, and many government agencies, are purchasing from their existing vendors, no matter what the needs or requirements. I call these solutions purchasing “comfort technologies” since their considering the relationship with the vendor more so than the value of the technology itself. It’s comforting to deal with the same company, people, and platform. Moreover, many of these same companies working with “comfort technologies” are also allowing the vendors to design and define their solution. I call these vendor driven architectures, or VDAs, but they are always called a bad idea if you understand the core issues. The core problem is that the vendor is not a disinterested third party. They are there to sell technology, so no matter what your requirements are; their technology will meet the need. Chances are, your requirements are not given proper consideration and, chances are, the technology solution is not optimal for your problem domain or enterprise. Moreover, chances are you’re paying a bit too much $ for the SOA solution versus a best-of-breed approach. Don’t fall into this trap. While vendors are good people, and want to make you successful, they are not responsible, nor should they be, with your core SOA. They are brought into the mix only after you understand your own issues, and only after all possible technology solutions have been considered. While they may know a lot of about SOA, it’s in the context of their own stuff, so don’t be fooled that you’re getting objective advice. This includes certification courses offered by vendors. Drive your own needs, and leverage independent outside assistance to validate your work, or help you through the process. Hopefully you’ll find that the “comfort technology” is the proper technology. For now, I fear that many companies and government agencies are not going through the proper steps to insure that their solution will provide maximum value. I have a feeling that this blog post will be emailed throughout organizations that are making the same mistakes. Tell me about your VDA story. dave@zapthink.com. Software Development