Service-oriented architecture is today perhaps the most widely used, yet widely misunderstood structure for insurance industry computer systems.

While definitions may vary (see the sidebar with this article), most experts agree SOA allows discrete business functions from various sources to be modularized and distributed as services via the Internet.

The insurance industry has, over the past four years or so, bought heavily into this concept in terms of quicker software development and a host of efficiencies that promise lower costs. The question now is how well SOA has delivered on the hype that has accompanied it.

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