UK companies are at the tipping point for adoption of service-oriented architecture according to research from Oracle and its system integration partner Griffith Waite.

A study of 180 UK organisations revealed that nearly half (47 per cent) were in the process of implementing SOA.

"SOA has reached a point where organisations see the value, have undertaken pilots and are at the point of implementing real world applications in an SOA environment,” said Alan Hartwell, Vice President, Technology Solutions and Channels, Oracle UK, Ireland and Israel.

Respondents indicated that business flexibility was a key driver for implementing SOA. Of those with SOA programmes underway, 49 per cent said they had been convinced that SOA would deliver a flexible IT architecture capable of supporting ongoing business change.

The survey was based on Oracle's SOA Maturity Model, which "puts forth a realistic business and technology view of what it takes for companies to successfully adopt SOA,” said Hugh Griffiths, co-founder and director of Griffiths Waite.

The survey results paint a more optimist picture of SOA adoption in the UK than was apparent as analyst group IDC's recent SOA conference in London. There, delegates also expressed their desire to push forward with SOA plans, but many also highlighted the difficulties – at both a technical and organisational level – of so doing.