Why write about SOA for the Federal Government?

I suppose that it might be might have been easier simple to write about SOA in the abstract without framing it in some specific context. As I work in and around the US Federal Government I have some knowledge and insight as to how the government (Civilian, Military and Intelligence community) does business. Armed with that knowledge and my position as Federal SOA Architect for BEA, it's clear to me that the benefit of SOA in this space is simply enormous.

Of significant note is the sheer size and mass of the US Federal Government. In the world of Enterprise Architecture and distribruted engineering, I would be hard pressed to find an organization larger, more complicated in scope or gravity nor one that can compare politically. The military alone is a vast organization that will benefit is ways I think even it does not quite understand. The Civilian side of the fed with its effort to accomplish its "line-of-business" consolidation dwarfs even the largest of private companies with the scope and complexities involved. The Intelligence Community has an obvious need to share information that can only be realized through SOA principles and a shared service infrastructure.

In all, I think it's clear that the Federal Government crystallizes and clarifies the needs, challenges and solutions for which SOA was invented. This blog was meant as a place to describe the thoughts, challenges and great ideas that I've run across during my time practicing SOA in the Federal space.