Cloud Computing and SOA Convergence in Your Enterprise: A Step ...

Working from Your Services to the Clouds 109
ing. If you think this sounds like SOA, in many ways it is. However, as we discussed
in Chapter 1, “Where We Are, How We Got Here, and How to Fix It,”
and as demonstrated in this chapter, SOA approaches are the correct onramp
to cloud computing, with cloud computing providing architectural
options for the architecture. Thus, at a high level, the process is as follows:
1. Understand the existing as-is architecture.
2. Identify the existing services within the architecture.
3. Document and list those services within a directory.
4. Define the to-be architecture, including the use of cloud computing.
As depicted in Figure 6.2, once we have a service-level understanding of
the problem domain, we can identify systems and services that are good candidates
for relocation into cloud platforms and those that can stay on-premise.
(We get into how that relocation occurs in subsequent chapters.) The idea is
that we will relocate the systems to find a more cost-effective way to process the
On-Premise
Cloud Provider
Figure 6.2 The “After.” Once we have a service-level understanding of the problem
domain, we can begin to relocate systems to the cloud-based platforms where it
makes sense. Keep in mind that the systems can still communicate using services.