Members of the OASIS international standards consortium have approved the Reference Model for Service Oriented Architecture (SOA-RM) version 1.0 as an OASIS Standard, a status that signifies the highest level of ratification. SOA-RM provides an abstract framework for understanding significant entities and their relationships within a service-oriented environment. SOA-RM enables the development of specific reference or concrete architectures using consistent standards.

"SOA-RM is a true reference model, based on unifying concepts of SOA," noted Lawrence Wilkes, analyst at Everware-CBDI. "This level of definition is much needed by enterprise developers working on specific service-oriented architectures."

"There are many different definitions of SOA being used in the marketplace today," observed Duane Nickull of Adobe Systems, chair of the OASIS SOA-RM Technical Committee. "By providing a clear, singular point of reference, the SOA-RM enables even those with unique ideas about SOA to describe their work in quantifiable terms that can be commonly understood."

SOA-RM is not directly tied to any specific Web services standards, technologies, or other concrete implementation details. Instead, it offers common semantics that can be used unambiguously across and between different implementations.

"SOA-RM offers us a much-needed vocabulary for communicating an organization's services architecture. It delivers a standard reference that will remain relevant as a powerful model, useful across SOA deployments with evolving technologies," said Patrick Gannon, president and CEO of OASIS.

The Canadian Government, Capgemini and Adobe Systems have all verified successful implementations of SOA-RM (in keeping with the consortium's requirement that at least three parties assert successful implementation prior to OASIS Standard balloting).

"As a key education piece, SOA-RM brings clarity to definitions and significant understanding to the concepts and associations typically used within any SOA," noted Wesley McGregor, senior advisor for the Treasury Board of Canada. "SOA-RM is a solid model from which the Canadian Federal Government derives useful reference architectures."

Participation in the OASIS SOA-RM Technical Committee remains open to all; suppliers, end-users and system integrators are invited to join OASIS to advance the continued development and use of SOA-RM. OASIS hosts an open mail list for public comment and the soa-rm-dev mailing list for exchanging information on implementing the standard.

"The approval of the SOA Reference Model is a significant step forward in enabling increased SOA interoperability and service re-use within and between organizations that adopt SOA. The SOA Reference Model provides SOA adopters with a set of core concepts that can be used to increase consistency and interoperability across and between different implementations. We expect several OASIS Technical Committees to utilize SOA-RM to their benefit, and we look forward to leveraging SOA-RM in our client solutions," said William Barnhill, associate at Booz Allen Hamilton and a member of the OASIS Technical Advisory Board.

"Capgemini are firm believers that SOA is a change not just of technology but of business thinking and approach, this move towards more dynamic and flexible systems represents an end to the traditional 'business as usual' spending model of IT. We are delighted to have been involved in the creation of the OASIS SOA Reference Model and are already using it on several of our engagements," said Andy Mulholland, Global CTO, Capgemini.