Chris: It seems the only constants in IT are change and complexity. An SOA strategy positions you for success in that environment by providing flexibility at lower costs. You also need a strategy to drive the planning and execution. As with any good idea, poor execution can negate any potential benefits. The advantage SOA has over other approaches is that it addresses IT and business services and, therefore, forces tighter linkages between those areas of the business.

David: Are there any particular customer success stories that you can share?

Chris: In keeping with the insurance example mentioned earlier, Citizens and Hanover Insurance Companies just completed a portal project as part of the SOA strategy with some amazing results. They were able to reduce the time it takes their agents to transact business by up to 75 percent. They improved the productivity of the customer-service operations of its agencies by 15 to 20 percent. Those kinds of results will make them a very tough competitor.

David: You've got the whole DominoPower audience reading your answers. What else would you like to say?

Chris: The whole Notes and Domino community is very excited about the release of Lotus Notes and Domino 7. From a WebSphere Portal standpoint, we have updated versions of our Domino portlets for WebSphere Portal available in our portlet catalog. These new portlets let customers easily integrate their Lotus Domino 7 applications into their portal and take advantage of the new features -- an easy way to get started with an SOA strategy.

Andrew Stuart is a software designer, consultant and Lotus Domino programmer and has been working with computers for 16 years. Andrew is Managing Director of Touchdown Systems Design in Melbourne Australia at http://www.touchdown.com.au. He can be reached at astuart@mira.net.