Applicability of Industrial Manufacturing Innovations and Concepts for the Industrialization of IT

Together with cloud computing, service orientation has the capability to industrialize IT such that IT can be exploited by businesses in much the same way that industrial manufacturing technology has been exploited. This paper critically examines how IT solutions are built today and highlights some of the benefits that service-oriented architecture (SOA) and cloud computing have brought in recent years. This is followed by a brief examination of key innovations that occurred in the evolution of industrial manufacturing from fitting to assembly of interchangeable parts to mass production/customization. We then argue that some of the remaining barriers to the industrialization of IT can be overcome if the innovations and concepts behind the evolution of industrial manufacturing are adapted for the IT domain. These innovations and concepts could serve as catalysts that accelerate the industrialization of IT.