Jack van Hoof's IT Services Stack collaboration experiment

Jack van Hoof contacted me about his IT Services Stack collaboration experiment.  Jack, as many know, is an enterprise integration architect and author of the popular eda-soa blog.  In his email, Jack asked if I would let my readers know of his experiment and offer my feedback.  Since the work will remain in the public domain, I'm happy to do both.

The Initiative

The best way to describe the work, is to excerpt from Jack's post and show his picture in progress.

"It is not always easy for an enterprise IT architect to keep scope and hold the complete picture. As we have several architects with different competences I felt the urge to develop an IT Services Stack. The IT Services Stack is a picture of a layered view on all aspects of IT from a component perspective."

 

"I would like to make this premature IT Services Stack more consistent and supply an extended view on every component mentioned in the picture. The model should be defined one level deeper, with the following attributes:

• Function of the component

• Relationship with other components
       
• Sub-level components and models
       
• Related open standards
       
• Innovative products in the market"
   

Jack then asks for community help, that's us.  So, if you are inclined, jump over to Jack's blog and offer your comments.  Or, as I'm about to do, post your comments and link to Jack.

My Three Cents

I suggest the addition of a new (leftmost) column, IT Business Management.  This column would contain components related to the 'business of IT'.  Top of mind components are:

   
• Business & IT Collaboration: Strategy, Architecture, Planning
   
• IT Offerings - the products and services IT provides to the business.  The supplier might be a third party.
   
• Demand and Supply Management
   
• Portfolio Management - Budget, Project and Asset
   
• Talent Development

The Hardware section caught my eye, only because I wonder how much hardware will continue to be under direct management of IT.  Beyond interaction devices (laptops, keyboards, mice, pdas) and networking equipment, does hardware ownership and management by IT organizations become obsolete?  Do we care about the hardware?  Or, just the technical infrastructure services at the next layer up?

In respect to the SOA box, the SOA Consortium's community of practice is working on a planning framework.  I sense some sharing in our future.

[Disclosure: The SOA Consortium is a client of my company, Elemental Links]