Podcast: Even enterprise architects, and many of them at that, are ineffective when it comes to services-oriented architecture. Typical organizations have layers upon layers of technologies that do not all work together, David Linthicum explains. And while everything might work just fine, once a need to change core processes springs up, companies find out just static and fragile their infrastructure truly is. Thus, “the role of the enterprise architect is going to need to morph into something that is a bit more productive, a bit more influential, and a bit more effective than in the past. Inefficiencies are so awful that its starting to affect the business.” Listen to Real World SOA. Best of the blogs: Way down at the bottom of Microsoft’s press release about boosting its virtualization efforts Randall Kennedy found a tidbit stating that the 2003 and 2007 versions of Office are now supported when running in both Microsoft’s Applications Virtualization 4.5 and SoftGrid’s Applications Virtualization 4.2. “It signals a major shift in Microsoft’s view of its nascent application virtualization platform. No longer a ‘fringe’ technology, ‘MAV’ is now an accepted part of the Windows ecosystem,” Kennedy explains. Which causes him to wonder: Is virtualized MS Office just around the corner? “I expect the full-court press to continue throughout the coming year, with Microsoft ‘gifting’ more and more of MAV until its biggest customers find the bait irresistible and start dabbling with the technology.” Related news: Microsoft steps up assault on virtualization. Columnist’s corner: Tom Yager offers some words to the wise: Don’t just let vendors, or anyone who sells you convenience for that matter, be the expert you rely on. Instead, become your own most trusted source of knowledge, if only because sharp science leads to smart decisions. Take benchmarks, for instance. “Now that I can run, and more importantly, explain the [SPEC] tests that my readers are studying to make comparisons among vendors, I’m fired up about benchmarks,” he explains. “When you end up making smarter decisions with the new knowledge you’ve gathered from the most trustworthy source on the planet (you), science is good for your career, whatever it says on your business card.” Technology Industry