Gartner, CRM and SOA

Just found this article while scanning through my long long list of unread feeds in Google Reader. Gartner has released a report on how CRM software is paving the way for SOA related developments. Some quotes from the article below.

SOA has become the near-universally accepted method for delivering next-generation enterprise applications, Gartner vice president, John Radcliffe acknowledged. And while SAP, Microsoft and Oracle had all made advances in their CRM offerings, users still faced uncertainty about how to progress.

SOA remains a buzzword, there are not a lot of companies that know how to apply a true service oriented architecture. Most enterprise applications are not truly enabled to take their place in a service oriented architecture, as yet.

Enterprise users are desperate for better guidance about how to proceed with SOA implementations, noted Radcliffe, as it should allow them to build more business-responsive IT infrastructures, while also offering a way to upgrade applications incrementally – thus avoiding the cost and expense of large enterprise application deployments.

But a lot remains to be done, for both SAP, Oracle and Microsoft. SAP's SOA strategy is comprehensive, but not built on open standards and requires the use of proprietary technology. Microsoft's CRM products are just beginning to gain a place in the market and have a long way to go. As for Oracle, the Fusion suite of products seems to offer a lot of functionality, but it is not understood by or communicated clearly to both Oracle's customers and partners. It seems therefore that there will be some road to travel before SOA enabled enterprise applications enter the market place and companies are ready to start using them.