SOA: “I’ve been screaming about this for a few years now,” Daivd Linthicum writes. And now the data points are finally coming in to prove that, “the lack of SOA talent is killing SOA.” An IBM survey determined that more than half of respondents cite a lack of SOA skills as the foremost inhibitor to launching and delivering service-oriented architecture projects — and about half of respondents admit to having less than 25 percent of the skills they need, he explains in this Real World SOA post. “Indeed, the larger issue is that the wrong people are working on SOA projects, and thus are being setup for failure. Moreover, people are paying big bucks for SOA consultants, and they also have no clue.” M&A: Microsoft put in a bid to acquire Yahoo for $44.6 billion. The offer, a 62 percent premium over Yahoo’s closing price on Thursday, is bold enough that one analyst states Yahoo’s board will have to consider it, if only for shareholder’s stake. Although Yahoo has yet to say anything other than the standard line that it will review Microsoft’s proposal, privacy groups are already vowing to fight the deal. Related: Read Microsoft CEO’s letter to Yahoo’s board containing the offer. Notes from the field: Robert X. Cringely insists that he was not surprised by Microsoft’s offer, particularly since Yahoo’s stock is currently “swirling down the toilet.” His words, not mine. “I predict that Microsoft will not be the only suitor, and some major media company or broadband provider will dive in with a competitive offer.” MicroYahoo: A marriage made in heck. Cringe concedes, though, that Microsoft would likely win nonetheless. “While MS execs cut a groove in the ozone commuting between Sunnyvale and Redmond, trying to manage two bureaucratic morasses at the same time, the Google machine will chug merrily along, kicking Microsoft where it hurts most: in the operating system.” Special: Microsoft’s attempt to snag Yahoo is not the only news this week. That’s right, iPhones went missing, there was spectrum bidding, large swaths of the Middle East and India fell off the Internet. Think you can nail a perfect score? It’s harder than it looks. InfoWorld News Quiz. Technology Industry