SOA/ESA open thread

I'd love to hear your thoughts on what the benefits of a pure SOA application framework are. While the technical benefits are important, of equal interest are the actual end-user business benefits for companies investing in this technology. Here's a short off-the-top-of-my-head start to kick off the discussion.

1. less disruptive updates and upgrades
2. new functional components developed quickly and with less risk than previous monolithic application releases. In other words adding a compliance function is less likely to break something somewhere else that is unrelated to the compliance function
3. greater third party ISV support which translates into comprehensive vertical app development
4. higher performance environment that better utilizes hardware and network resources
5. flatter learning curve for users because applications can be broken up and delivered as function streams that directly overlay to their needs as opposed to getting everything in one app

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