Service Oriented Architecture For Dummies®

Chapter 13. Where's the Data?

In This Chapter

• Ridding yourself of data silos

• Making information into a service

• Scouting out the metadata repository

• Making sure you can trust your data

If you've decided to dive into the world of service oriented architecture — thereby reaping the benefits of sharing critical business services across the organization — you need to consider how to maximize the trust and confidence you have in your company's data. You may decide to begin your SOA journey by eliminating some of the redundancies in businesses technology systems and software, but you can't stop there. The next step is to ensure that all the company's data is both consistent and accurate. This chapter shows you how to achieve both those goals.

When Good Data Goes Bad

Service oriented architecture represents a new way of thinking about everything in a company's IT structure, including how one thinks about data. It begins with the goal of achieving consistency between data sources. In order to achieve data consistency, you begin by separating your data from its tight dependency on the business applications that created it and update it.

Data is one of the organization's most precious assets, but these critical data stores are typically segregated by business function in data silos. Traditionally, business data has been managed in a way that tightly associates specific data definitions to specific business applications, such as finance, human resources, or operations. Take, for example, a sales force ...