With the launch of something it calls the Retail Integration Framework (RIF), IBM this week gave prospective customers and its competitors a preview of what it has in store for SOA-enablement (define) in the coming year.

RIF isn't a product but rather an enterprise software architecture, or framework, designed to help fill in the gaps between packaged software applications and legacy systems to help speed the implementation of new customer-focused strategies and technology initiatives in an SOA environment.

This particular platform, unveiled Wednesday, happens to focus on the retail vertical. But expect IBM to serve up a steady diet of industry-specific and even process-specific announcements through the rest of this year.