With the unemployment rate rising, the financial bailout program getting worked out and the stimulus bill still in debate with the US Senate we have to wonder where the silver lining is. However there is hope and one global industry that can benefit from this crisis is the IT (Information Technology) sector.

A business process is a set of activities, tasks and events performed by systems and people to achieve a business goal. Commissioning a process involves several steps ranging from the ideation of the process through the building, and continuous improvement of the process – this is typically referred to as the life-cycle of a process. Business Process Management refers to the concept of managing a business process through its life-cycle.

Service Oriented Architecture is now a common concept, it appeals to common sense, and its not hard to see reason it it. But, before rushing into a big-bang implementation of SOA, an organization needs to go through a self-assessment to understand where to start, and what to expect. Here is a basic guide for an SOA self-assessment that will throw light on some of these areas.