SOAs (service-oriented architectures) are needed to accommodate the distributed nature of today's businesses, said an IBM official at the SD (Software Development) West 2005 Conference here on Tuesday.

Businesses that used to be monolithic now operate in an increasingly distributed fashion, dealing with customers and suppliers in a much more flexible environment, said IBM's Jim Rumbaugh, a distinguished engineer at the company and a founder of the Unified Modeling Language. Stability is no longer the mode of operation for businesses; change is, according to Rumbaugh.