Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is a design pattern where distinct services are provided to other components by application components through a communication protocol over a network. SOA's primary goal is to allow easy integration between different applications and to facilitate business processes by making these services reusable and interoperable. This architecture style is particularly useful for organizations aiming to create complex systems that are agile and can be modified or extended with minimal impact on existing services.
SOA is relevant in the "methods-and-patterns" quadrant because it provides a framework for structuring and organizing software components that can be reused across different projects and solutions. The "assess" ring is appropriate as organizations are continuously evaluating how best to integrate SOA with modern microservices architectures, considering cloud-native approaches and the need for more dynamic, scalable solutions. As technology evolves, businesses are assessing whether traditional SOA implementations meet their needs or if new patterns are required to adapt to the changing landscape.