Now that service-oriented architecture (SOA) is finally becoming mainstream, an increasing number of people are asking us what comes after SOA. If SOA is one step in the evolution of distributed computing, the reasoning goes, then something is bound to be next in line. Furthermore, just as SOA built upon Web architectures, client/server, and the rest of what are now today's legacy technologies, so too will this "Next Big Thing" (for want of a name) build upon, rather than replace SOA.

Well-meaning pundits, analysts, bloggers, and others have sought to name this Next Big Thing -- SOA 2.0, Web 3.0, etc. -- but simply naming a concept before anybody really knows what that concept represents is sheer folly, and inevitably a lightning rod for derision. This ZapFlash, therefore will do no such thing. Instead, we'll seek in a mere 1,500 words or so to identify the elements of the Next Big Thing that we can find in today's trends, and identify the one thread -- location independence -- that may lead us to identify the successor to SOA.