EDA and SOA:  The Myths of EDA and SOA

The relationship between Event Driven Architecture (EDA) and Service Oriented Architecture (EDA) is one of the most widely discussed topics in software engineering circles today.  One idea is that EDA is an "advanced" form of SOA;  another is that the software architectures are independent, yet complementary, software architectures.  We subscribe to the latter point of view, and discuss this relationship in depth in "The 10 Myths of EDA and SOA."

Myth #1:  EDA is Just Asynchronous Software Design

Some have suggested that EDA is old news - that because the industry has been doing publish-and-subscribe interaction since the 1980's, that we have EDA all figured out.  But event processing technologies are new and designed to monitor, analyze, and act on events, not just transport them (as pub/sub middleware does), or emit them (as a sensor, batch file reader, or an x-windows event loop would).  Event processing is about adding intelligence and action to events.  Yes, events are as old as the hills. But EDA, and event processing, is a fresh approach to processing events of all types.  That's why EDA is emerging as an important, modern enterprise IT architecture.  Read myth #1: EDA is just asynchronous software design.

Myth #2: EDA is "SOA 2.0"

Myth #2 takes a swipe at an easy target - Oracle.  Oracle has been a primary purveyor of the myth that EDA is "version 2.0" of SOA.  The fact that Oracle has taken this position is loaded with irony:  EDA is rooted in the idea of processing events in the now, rather than by looking in the rear-view mirror - that is, into a database.   No wonder Oracle has it all wrong - their company was built around technologies designed to analyze the past.  Naturally they look at the world from a database perspective.  Hopefully nobody is listening when it comes to their views on EDA.  Read myth #2: EDA is "SOA 2.0"

Myth #3:  BAM and BPM are Converging

BAM is an application paradigm that includes business logic, data management, and GUIs.  The underlying architecture for BAM is fundamentally event-driven - that is, it's an EDA; BPM plays a role, but it’s not the epicenter of the BAM universe.  Read myth #3:  BAM and BPM are Converging.

Myth #4: Think SOA or EDA Architecture First

Do NOT consider any architecture - EDA or SOA, first;  instead, spend more time measuring twice, three, and four times before choosing the right architectural cut to make in your enterprise architecture fabric. Read myth #4: Think SOA or EDA Architecture First

Myth #5: Do BPM Before BAM

CEP and BAM, when combined, can provide a higher level of intelligence, more rich and complete than a unified BPM environment where input comes from a variety of sources, not just a BPM tool... read more in Myth #5: Do BPM Before BAM.

Stay tuned for more myths of EDA and SOA.