One of the business benefits organizations strive to achieve by implementing a Service-Oriented Architecture, or utilizing Web Services, is the opportunity to reuse business components. Asset reuse is one of the core drivers of the SOA or Web Service ROI calculation. Although leveraging the service concept provides an avenue for application consolidation and reuse, these same efficiencies also introduce a distinct level of business risk.

In spite of the technical risks involved, reusable components are core to the SOA vision. In order to fully reap the benefits of SOA and Web services, it is critical that companies find an efficient and robust solution that mitigates risk, increases trust, and ultimately promotes reuse. However, in order to promote trust in the business components that are to be reused, policies that determine how the services are handled must be followed and enforced.