IBM added new services to help customers integrate mixed software using service-oriented architectures.

SOAs are distributed computing architectures that enable a range of services, such as data-exchanges or a collection of Web services, to communicate with each other. They often involve melding disparate applications to work together more efficiently, by reusing software code to eliminate manual coding tasks.

Many computing experts believe SOAs help customers manage the cost of maintaining IT systems thanks to the extensibility they promote with applications, for example. IBM and rivals like HP, Microsoft, and several others use SOAs as a way to better connect customers, partners and suppliers.