An interesting article from Enterprise Architect by Linda Briggs that deals with an all too common scenario as depicted in her opening paragraph below:
You know how it works with the latest buzzword. The day is coming when you'll run into someone from top management in the elevator, or in the hallway after a meeting, and he or she will casually ask, "So what are we doing these days about SOAs?" That's when you want to be ready with just the right amount of information to help a top-level business executive understand why a service-oriented architecture (SOA) is beneficial and something you're well-positioned for even though it won't solve every IT problem. To help you explain that and more, here's a primer on the strategic ideas and business benefits behind SOA.
A memorable quote from the article: