Extending beyond the technical architecture to the very philosophy of how a business should operate, the Service Orientation approach establishes fluidity across boundaries to provide agility, transparency, and fundamental competitive advantage. <BR><BR>Service Oriented Enterprises brings the concept of service orientation from the IT department to the boardroom, applying the precepts of service oriented technology to the underlying dynamics of how a business operates. Implementing a technological concept as a cultural paradigm, the SOE succeeds by combining the best features from virtual, extended, real-time, and resilient enterprises to serve not just its customers, but also its trading partners, shareholders and employees. Building primarily on the success of the Internet and the automation of business policies and processes, the Service Oriented Enterprise (SOE) is defined by three essential layers: the enterprise performance layer, the business process management layer, and the un