Coming up for Air...

So its been a while since my last post...  okay, about 3 months if you check the archive.  I've been heads down for just about that long to help get the next release of the MSE ready (which will be available later this month).  We have been working on some really exciting scenarios and capabilities that will really help take SOA to the next level.  Of course, by SOA, I really mean massively distributed systems.  In this next release, we are taking service virtualization one step further by representing every single component of the service, from the server all the way back to the source system.  This not only allows you to maximize the reuse of those items as building blocks, but also provides support for some very problematic ownership boundaries.  For example, an SAP system owner can define a policy for all services accessing his system, regardless of where they are exposed and who is using them.  We are essentially dismissing the constraints that are imposed by the limited approach of one service -> one owner -> one policy. 

Stay tuned for an announcement once the next release is available on CodePlex.  In the meantime, you can catch up on the service virtualization concept by reviewing the recent white paper written by Aaron Skonnard.  This is a great executive summary that helps to outline the key concepts and value proposition for this innovative approach to SOA.