An Analysis of the Efficiency of Sourcing Knowledge-Based Services in the United States Air Force

Abstract

The Department of Defense (DoD) is interested in acquiring systems that promote the use of open architecture (OA). Industry has successfully implemented service-oriented architecture (SOA) in its processes and may provide a benchmark for cost savings as well as examples of best practices for the DoD. The basic research question guiding this thesis is, what are the industry cost-saving benchmarks when transitioning to SOA from a proprietary system? The research supports the argument that OA in the DoD is similar to SOA in industry. This comparison is essential for the application of this thesis because this allows the outcomes of industry SOA implementation to be translated into what the DoD can expect from its OA implementations. This research also answers the research question by analyzing 34 industry reports 18 of which provided at least an overall ROI, and 10 of which broke out their ROI calculations into separate cost types. The reported costs were grouped into categories of cost savings, cost avoidance, or productivity improvements. The researcher concluded that the industry ROI for SOA implementation is 72%. Additionally, best practices in industry that are transferable to DoD were identified, including ensuring system flexibility and implementing SOA incrementally.