Gartner also said the number of organizations already pursuing SOA shows a massive change in the future perception of SOA, from something that is essentially inevitable for all organizations in a short time to a situation where many organizations evaluated SOA and have chosen not to spend time and effort on it.

The two major reasons organizations choose for not pursuing SOA are lack of skills and expertise and no viable business case. There is confusion about constructing a business case for SOA, Gartner said.

Gartner conducted surveys between May and July 2008 about the adoption, use, benefits of, and practices for SOA. An initial sample of more than 200 companies worldwide with more than 1,000 employees was included. Three subsequent phases of the study involved surveying attendees at Gartner conferences related to SOA. A total of 119 respondents were involved in these subsequent surveys.

The survey found that adoption of SOA and plans for adoption vary widely by region. SOA adoption is nearly universal in Europe, moderate in North America, and lagging in Asia, Gartner said.