IBM plans to hone in on the idea of governance and managing the software development process, according to Buell Duncan, general manager of ISV and Developer Relations at IBM. Governance, he said, is playing a critical role in SOA. The IBM Rational conference begins June 4 in Orlando, Fla.

"What you'll see at the Rational show is increasingly, [in] software development, like many things today -- the idea of governance is becoming increasingly important," with companies managing software development on a global basis, Duncan said.

Governance is being defined as control of processes ranging from security to compliance to project management, Duncan said.

Technology, Duncan continued, has evolved from a consumption phase in the late-1990s to a management-of-costs phase to an innovation phase. Companies want to differentiate and re-engineer business processes to be more responsive, he said.

Software development processes are about reusing components. "That really drives the need for governance," Duncan said. "You should expect to see an increased emphasis," on governance, he said. Announcements pertaining to governance are anticipated at the conference, although Duncan would not provide specific details.