Technology consulting firm Accenture said on July 19 that it will invest $450 million over the next three years on developing new capabilities in service-oriented architecture (SOA)—further proof of the technology's momentum in big business.
As part of the investment, Accenture will create a new research lab, develop a blueprint for SOA implementation and expand SOA offerings aimed at specific industries.
SOA refers to a method where one application, typically Web-based, is able to enact or use functions contained in another application. Those applications may also be Web-based, or, as is the case with many banks and insurance companies, SOA may be utilized to access functions in legacy applications.
Accenture chief technology officer Don Rippert said in announcing the SOA initiative that one of the primary tasks of the new lab will be to build reusable modules to perform specific business tasks. Another goal is to identify potential SOA problems during development and address them before SOA offerings are commercialized.
Initially, the lab will focus on the health-care industry, with Accenture's "e-prescription" project aimed at integrating the various businesses and corresponding applications involved in filling a prescription. The goal, according to Rippert, is to prove the feasibility of using SOA software and tools available today to meet such challenging tasks as integrating applications between doctors' offices, health-care plans, pharmacies and government agencies.
"If this or similar projects aren't possible, we want our clients to know," Rippert says.
The second industry Accenture will target is financial services; the company says it has already been actively involved in implementing SOA with financial firms.
The SOA lab will be a virtual one and involve personnel at each of Accenture's four R&D facilities, which are in Chicago; Palo Alto, Calif.; Sophia Antipolis, France; and Bangalore, India.
Projects: Integration 
