Infrastructure isn’t loosely coupled to other services but is the fundamental part of a system, whether that system is a service by itself or a part of a larger system.

Initiatives which call themselves Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) or Service Oriented Infrastructure (SOI) are ICT provider and technology driven initiatives and are more capacity-oriented then service-oriented.

Infrastructure Architecture must focus on enabling service orientation instead of being service oriented, because enabling service orientation is providing the biggest value for the business! You can find a good example of what I mean at the Volvo truck site. Volvo is enabling service orientation by providing guidelines and resources for service providers like independent bodybuilders. And maybe Volvo trucks are in some ways service-oriented by themselves but that is hidden as it should be to the consumers of Volvo Trucks.

I agree but I would add that a clear goal is also very important!

I imagine my infrastructure architecture world as a cloud forest ecosystem and I’m the researcher trying to understand, explain and describe it. My sketch of the cloud forest metaphor:

In this metaphore the most important characteristic of the cloud forest is:

it is impossible to see the whole forest due to the trees and the clouds

So I’m aware that I’m walking in a cloud forest, but I’m only able to focus at the part that is visible for me. For the other, not direct visible, parts I must rely on information provided by the communities, the clouds and available descriptions and my own experience and creativity!

Well not yet and maybe never…But for the infrastructure part it can be a reality. If infrastructure is defined as clear as water…