The service-oriented architecture (SOA) market in Australia and New Zealand will grow from an estimated $A221.3 million in 2006 to reach $A748 million by 2010, representing a 36 per cent CAGR between 2006 and 2010, according to research from Springboard Research.

"A/NZ is by far the largest SOA market in the APAC region and it is expected to continue its growth story - riding on the back of a robust services-led economy and competitive business scenario that demands extreme agility," said Michael Barnes, vice president for software research at Springboard Research. "SOA uptake in A/NZ is dominant among high-growth industries and a large part of the future demand will come from banking and insurance sector, telecom and public sector enterprises," Barnes added.

Springboard reported that SOA has reached noteworthy penetration levels in banking and financial services and government sectors. All the four major banks in Australia: ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB, and Westpac have deployed some form of SOA.

Similarly, SOA has been adopted by government agencies in Australia and notable SOA implementations in the sector include Australia Post and the Federal Department of Education in Australia and the Ministries of Health and Education in New Zealand.

"SOA has made remarkable inroads in the public sector. These SOA projects have been driven by governments' desire to better serve citizens, increase their level of transparency, and improve information-sharing across various agencies," Barnes said.

"Services dominate the Australian economy and they will drive SOA-related investments in the region as a means of enabling improved and more efficient customer care," noted Phil Hassey, country head for A/NZ at Springboard Research.

"At the same time, SOA enables organisations to roll out new services more quickly, which can help improve customer satisfaction and would be a driver for adoption," Hassey added.

Len Rust is publisher of The Rust Report