SHARE, the independent user group covering IBM mainframe shops, is launching a major effort to provide educational programs on  service-oriented architecture (SOA) for members.

Armed with a recent member survey, "The New Mainframe: Data Integration and Service-Oriented Architecture, Big Iron Style" that indicates that its members take an active role in SOA development in their businesses, SHARE is focusing on SOA education at its two annual conferences. There are more than 40 sessions in a track covering "The SOA Journey" for mainframers at the SHARE conference in Orlando, FL, later this month. Similar educational sessions are scheduled for the second conference in August.

In the survey conducted during this past summer and published last fall, almost one out of four respondents' companies had SOA projects already in progress, and another third were planning or considering SOA implementations. Far from the usual depiction of legacy as part of the supporting cast, at least half of those surveyed said mainframes will play a central role in SOA.