Adopting a service oriented architecture (SOA) may herald a new era in application interoperability, but end-users are cautious about buying into vendor solutions that claim more than they can deliver.

Addressing an SOA conference in Sydney last week, IT executives said despite what vendors say SOA is not 'plug and play' with many of the configuration claims 'misleading'.

IAG's manager of strategy and architecture Paul Lund said a key lesson learned through the company's SOA developments is to "be vary of vendor promises regarding software and its capability".

"Make sure the software does what it says and there is a supply of skilled and experienced resources," Lund said. "Focus on demonstrated capabilities and standards."

That said, Lund recommends avoiding "heavy engineering" as much as possible and to "think big but start small".