Albereth
Honorary Master
I attended a breakfast seminar this morning hosted by IBM on Service Oriented Architecture. I am not going to bore you with the technicalities but the upshot was that it is about leveraging IT by addressing the lines between the components. Lines in this sense was about the logical view rather than meaning network cables - although the two are fairly synonymous.
The presenters were from Gartner, SARS, and IBM and were all saying that this is a good thing.
What got me though, was the impact that Telkom would have on this approach. I can understand that the large players in the country would be using dedicated networks but at some point the likes of you and me might want to join in. We are already Service Consumers in that we do internet banking. But how would we become Service Providers?
I have had this idea of being able to book a room for a night in a B&B in Pofadder (sad, but someone has to go there). Now it might be fairly easy for the reservation system to be put up on the net but current experience is that I would have to send an email to enquire if a room is available and the rate. Assuming that a room is available I would then have to transfer money to the owner and then FAX a copy of the deposit slip through to them. How much better if I could look up the rooms available on the day I want, and at the rate I want, make the booking and tranfer the funds, and get a confirmation of the booking and payment all in one (perceived) transaction.
Telkom's little monopoly and high prices are keeping these little scenarios out of the picture. The cost of a permanent presence (or the lack of infrastructure) prevents my little B&B in Pofadder from attaining the world status it deserves. The benefits of SOA are not being brought to bear.
This also opens up some other thoughts. The big players already have their own networks and have absorbed the costs. ADSL doesn't really worry them - or does it? In the past the banks may have been able to justify why it takes so long for money to get from your account to another account as pieces of paper needed to travel from one bank to another. With today's interconnectivity the time it should take can be measured in seconds - light travels really quickly, even in South Africa. Of course the banks make money on your transaction and the 3 odd days your money takes to travel from one account to another. Someone should do a Hong Kong exercise - it is quicker to draw money from your account and travel to Pofadder and make a deposit than it is to transfer funds over the internet. Telkom could sponsor this one, it isn't their fault. Not a cheaper option I'm afraid.
The presenters were from Gartner, SARS, and IBM and were all saying that this is a good thing.
What got me though, was the impact that Telkom would have on this approach. I can understand that the large players in the country would be using dedicated networks but at some point the likes of you and me might want to join in. We are already Service Consumers in that we do internet banking. But how would we become Service Providers?
I have had this idea of being able to book a room for a night in a B&B in Pofadder (sad, but someone has to go there). Now it might be fairly easy for the reservation system to be put up on the net but current experience is that I would have to send an email to enquire if a room is available and the rate. Assuming that a room is available I would then have to transfer money to the owner and then FAX a copy of the deposit slip through to them. How much better if I could look up the rooms available on the day I want, and at the rate I want, make the booking and tranfer the funds, and get a confirmation of the booking and payment all in one (perceived) transaction.
Telkom's little monopoly and high prices are keeping these little scenarios out of the picture. The cost of a permanent presence (or the lack of infrastructure) prevents my little B&B in Pofadder from attaining the world status it deserves. The benefits of SOA are not being brought to bear.
This also opens up some other thoughts. The big players already have their own networks and have absorbed the costs. ADSL doesn't really worry them - or does it? In the past the banks may have been able to justify why it takes so long for money to get from your account to another account as pieces of paper needed to travel from one bank to another. With today's interconnectivity the time it should take can be measured in seconds - light travels really quickly, even in South Africa. Of course the banks make money on your transaction and the 3 odd days your money takes to travel from one account to another. Someone should do a Hong Kong exercise - it is quicker to draw money from your account and travel to Pofadder and make a deposit than it is to transfer funds over the internet. Telkom could sponsor this one, it isn't their fault. Not a cheaper option I'm afraid.