IT news: service--oriented architectures new strategic reality.

While the software industry continues to consolidate, corporate technology departments increasingly believe service-oriented architectures (SOA) will be necessary to strategically leverage their organization's infrastructure to reduce costs and improve service levels, according to the results of a survey of almost 200 participants attending the Oracle OpenWorld conference in San Francisco. According to the pulse survey conducted by Capgemini U.S. LLC, specialist in consulting, technology and outsourcing, while only one-third (35%) of enterprises currently use SOA, more than eight in ten (82%) plan on utilizing these architectures in the near future. Respondents indicated that the top three IT benefits from SOA were cost reductions on integration projects (40%), a greater flexibility to handle future change (37%) and an increased return on existing assets (18%). While three-quarters of those surveyed at Oracle Open World hailed from North America (75%), a significant number came from Europe (22%), and some came from Asia (4%). More than six in ten (61%) of the organizations surveyed suggested software integration would be the greatest benefit from a consolidating software industry. Respondents gave a bullish outlook on the information technology industry, as a majority of organizations (65%) forecasted an IT budget for 2006 that either increases or at least stays the same.

Other key findings from the Capgemini pulse survey at Oracle OpenWorld: Four in ten (41%) came from companies with more than $1 billion in annual revenue; Nearly half of respondents (48%) identified themselves as IT architects, while 22% were CIO/CTOs and another 22% were in sales and marketing;

* SOA will be the number one priority for half of the responding organization's IT infrastructure (50%), compared to only four in ten (41%) who point to outsourcing and labor arbitrage as the biggest driver;

* The two industry sectors affected most by the consolidating software industry will be Manufacturing, Retail, & Distribution (33%), and Financial Services (30%);

* A narrow majority (56%) currently uses Oracle Fusion Middleware, and almost the same number (58%) believe the greatest benefit from Fusion Middleware is its ability to provide cost effective integration;

* A narrow majority (56%) still believe IT is viewed as a cost center inside the organization, compared to only four in ten (38%) who think their company views IT as "strategic";