2.2

1. What were the major reasons the company had to use SOA?

IT is an ever changing world and if a company does not stay on top of changes, then the company will become obsolete. This was the case for TruCredit. In order to keep their competitive advantage, they needed to improve their current applications. TruCredit was in the business of making and selling products and services that were credit-based. They had to act quickly or they were going to lose ground to the competition. To combat this problem, the company adopted SOA (service-oriented architecture) which operates on the idea of reusing and reconnecting existing IT applications. Utilizing this has several benefits for companies. Saving companies’ time and money are two of the main drivers that would cause a company to adopt SOA. TruCredit had to use SOA because to keep their competitive advantage, they needed to make response time to their applications faster. They also needed to be more efficient in the response time of applications. Most application development took longer than the company needed. They needed a quick fix to stay on top.

2. In what ways did they gain competitive advantage by using SOA?

TruCredit gained a competitive advantage by using SOA. They combined and reused their existing services which allowed them to create new applications. This allowed them to save money and time because they did not have to build new software. This sped up the software process which allowed them to stay competitive while obtaining the software necessary to be successful. TruCredit was also able to collect and analyze data from multiple sources very fast. This gave them an edge of their competition. SOA enabled them to be a leader within their industry. They were able to get ahead and they are now very prevalent within the industry.

3. What specific “services” can you identify in a business like this?

TruCredit is offering several services to its customers. They have consumer credit reports, credit scores, and other various financial services. These services are offered on their website and on websites of their business associates. Their products are available directly through TruCredit or through their partners.

4. Why is it so important to serve 50,000 simultaneous users?

When there are 50,000 users depending on you, it is very important to have an effective server that works when your customers need it to work. If customers could not access the information that they needed or wanted at a specific time, they would complain to their company. If enough complaints came in, the companies would drop TruCredit and they would lose their advantage in the market. Being able to support their users is vital to their success.

5. Classify this application using the material in Section 2.2

TruCredit would be classified as an integrated support system because it is comprised of two or more support systems. Their integrated functions make them more useful which is exactly what TruCredit did when they adopted SOA.