• Greg Deller and Tom Gulledge have been notified that their paper, Service-oriented Concepts, has been accepted for publication in Industrial Management & Data Systems Journal. A structured abstract follows:

Purpose – Provide a common understanding of service-oriented concepts to enable unambiguous discussion around Service-oriented Architecture (SOA). Managers often have limited understanding of SOA, and for some reason, technologists seem to have difficulty explaining the concept using terminology and analogies that managers can understand. This paper addresses the long-standing communications gap between managers and technologists as they attempt to evaluate how SOA or SOA-related investments can add business value.

Design/Methodology/Approach – The approach for this paper is to state the problem between managers and technologists and then provide concepts to break down the communication barrier.  The paper then goes on to provide an argument for an optimal approach for SOA implementation and investment that meets management requirements.

Findings – Unless SOA can be aligned to business processes, it will be viewed as a risky proposition that adds to cost without directly addressing business needs.

Practical Implications – Managers need to understand the differing SOA points-of-view and what they mean for business performance. If one has difficulty in implementing ERP, then one will have more difficulty in implementing SOA. It is the responsibility of management to understand how these SOA-related concepts impact the business, if for no other reason that they are costly and risky. Of course, the concepts vary in cost and complexity, but they all vary in benefit potential to the business.

•  Dr. Thomas Gulledge has been named Research Fellow at University of Alabama in Huntsville's Center for Management of Science & Technology (CMOST), June 2008.

• Dr. Thomas Gulledge has released new publications for 2008:
  

Thomas Gulledge, “Architecture-driven Enterprise Integration,” International Journal of Management & Enterprise Development, Vol. 5 #3 (2008), 265-309.

Thomas Gulledge, “Reference Models and Processes: A Technical Note,” International Journal of Services and Standards, Vol. 4 #2 (2008), 141-149.

Thomas Gulledge and Edward Tom, “The Single Army Financial Enterprise,” International Journal of Electronic Finance, Vol. 2 #2 (2008), 129-161.

Thomas Gulledge and Georg Simon, "Innovation and Transformation Using Product Lifecycle Management Enabled by NetWeaver,” Accepted for Publication in the International Journal of Innovation and Learning, 2008.

Thomas Gulledge and Gregory Huntington, “Implementation Governance Across Complex Solution Landscapes,” Accepted for publication in the International Journal of Services and Standards, 2008.

Thomas Gulledge and Tamer Chavusholu, “Automating the Construction of Supply Chain Key Performance Indicators,” Accepted for Publication in Industrial Management & Data Systems, 2008.

• Dr. Thomas Gulledge has accepted the assignment of 2008-2009 Senior Editor for the International Journal of Management & Enterprise Development. More information about the Journal is available on the Inderscience Enterprise Ltd web site.

• EII is proud to announce that one of its consultants will have a chapter published in the "Handbook of Research on Enterprise Systems" to be published by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global) in 2008. The chapter will discuss the different aspects of SAP Business Blueprinting from technical infrastructure enablement, while setting the solution landscape, to the details of business process definition. The chapter will also explore ways of maintaining complete and consistent traceability between business process architecture and Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), up to the strategic level.

• U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) has won the prestigious 2007 Supply Chain Excellence award from the Supply Chain Council, an international not-for-profit industry association whose Supply Chain Reference Model (SCOR) has been designated the overarching reference architecture for Department of Defense (DoD) supply-related architectures. As a member of the contractor team led by Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), EII plays a key role in defining and maintaining the federated architecture approach of USTRANSCOM's SCOR-based Joint Deployment and Distribution Architecture (JDDA), which provides USTRANSCOM with the Enterprise Architecture it requires to fulfill its role as the DoD's Distribution Process Owner (DPO). Additionally, the JDDA serves as a link to such DoD-wide architectures as the Business Transformation Agency's SCOR-based Business Enterprise Architecture (BEA) and several Service and Component architectures. This link allows for visibility across several levels of the DoD from a Deployment and Distribution perspective with the JDDA as the common reference point. EII President Dr. Tom Gulledge noted that "This award represents the benefit of an enterprise-wide approach when using Enterprise Architecture in pursuit of organizational goals. We are proud to be a member of the team that helped turn USTRANSCOM's vision into an award-winning reality."

  The award spotlights world-class organizations that have recognized the critical role supply chain performance plays in reaching organizational goals and their commitment to optimize supply chain performance. More information can be found on the Supply Chain Council website at http://www.supply-chain.org http://www.supply-chain.org. A white paper detailing EII's Federated Enterprise Architecture methodology may be found at http://www.eiisolutions.net/resource-center/white-paper-respository.