SOA is gaining in popularity even though many do not fully understand its concepts, according to a survey conducted by consulting firm Capgemini.A survey of more than 1,000 attendees at the recent SAP Sapphire Orlando and SAP Sapphire Paris events found that organizations will on the average increase the percentage of applications run on SOA by 20 percent during the next three years. Chief reasons for utilizing SOA include innovation, compliance and the speed of change. More than one-third of respondents, however, did not fully understand the concepts of SOA. Top benefits cited from SOA include increased flexibility, lower software integration costs and better alignment of IT and business goals. The biggest obstacles include lack of understanding, difficulty in justifying ROI and a shortage of skills. North American organizations expect to increase SOA adoption at a faster pace than in Europe, Capgemini said. Sixty-seven percent of North American respondents are expected to push for their organizations to run between 20 percent to 60 percent of their applications on SOA-based technology within three years. The same percentage of European respondents expect to run only as much as 40 percent of their applications on SOA. Technology Industry