Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) isn't the first name that comes to mind when you think about service-oriented architecture vendors. Despite Windows' ubiquity on the desktop and its advance into the server market, SOA is firmly associated with Java and often runs on Linux. But Microsoft has big plans to change that. It has already entered the enterprise service bus market, has designs on governance, and is partnering with management vendors. Most ambitiously, it has announced technologies that could put it at the center of business-to-business Web services while making application development accessible to everyone--if the products ever ship, that is.
