ZapThink and Excel Partner Launch SOA-Focused Architect Resource and Placement Offering

Baltimore, MD and Montvale, NJ (PRWEB) January 26, 2007 — Focusing on the chronic shortage of Enterprise Architecture (EA) and Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) professionals, ZapThink and Excel Partner today announced the formal release of the Architect Resource Center (ARC), an online and consultative service aimed at helping enterprises locate and fill EA and SOA resource needs and expanding the opportunities for capable architects.

ZapThink, the industry’s foremost experts and advisers in the field of SOA, joins with Excel Partner, a leading executive search and staffing firm that specializes in SOA to provide a dependable source for qualified Enterprise Architects having an SOA background. The ARC provides an online means for companies to identify potential architect candidates and discuss their resource needs with knowledgeable SOA and EA staffing experts. Excel Partner fulfills the requirement by applying each organization’s complementary strengths in skills assessment and candidate recruitment to optimally satisfy those needs in a timely manner. Through the ARC, ZapThink and Excel Partner now offer a consultative approach to dealing with EA resource hires in the full context of an organization’s internal and external environment and future plans.

“ZapThink believes that the single largest factor impacting long-term success of SOA and other Enterprise Architecture initiatives is the chronic lack of talent,” said Ronald Schmelzer, Senior Analyst with ZapThink. “Through the ARC as well as a number of other significant initiatives ZapThink is launching in 2007, ZapThink aims to increase both the supply and quality of skilled resources to meet the burgeoning demand for SOA.”

“Excel Partner views this partnership and the creation of the ARC as a strategic milestone enabling the expansion of SOA,” explains David Haberfield, Founder and CEO, Excel Partner. “By combining our deep expertise and experience in recruiting with ZapThink’s visibility, network, and thought leadership in SOA, we aim to meet existing and increasing demand for EA resources as the market grows.”

Located online at www.zapthink.com, the ARC is available on a worldwide basis to any enterprise organization, consulting firm, product vendor or individual looking to bolster their team with strong EA resources on either a full-time or part-time basis. In addition, the ARC is available to potential candidates who are looking to find new opportunities for their skills at companies with SOA-specific needs. To further enhance candidates’ career growth, ZapThink has also recently announced its Licensed ZapThink Architect (LZA) program, which will be formally launched later in January 2007. The LZA program provides a third-party credential that aims to bolster the skills, network and reputation of architects proficient in SOA skills.

About ZapThink, LLC
Founded in October 2000, ZapThink, LLC (http://www.zapthink.com) is an IT advisory and analysis firm that provides trusted advice and critical insight into the architectural and organizational changes brought about by the movement to XML, Web Services and Service Orientation. We provide our three target audiences of IT vendors, service providers and end-users a clear roadmap for standards-based, loosely coupled distributed computing — a vision of IT meeting the needs of the agile business. ZapThink is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. Its customers include Global 1000 firms and emerging businesses.

About Excel Partner
Excel Partner was established in 1992 to provide cost effective implementation services for client/server-based enterprise systems. In this process, the company established partnerships with the major ERP vendors including SAP, PeopleSoft and Oracle. Over the past decade, Excel Partner has successfully completed numerous projects and end-user consulting engagements and has evolved into a full-service enterprise solutions provider. The company works with the world’s leading companies in critical technology sectors such as ERP Internet core technologies and established a special integration practice based upon Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) methodology. Excel Partner recently applied their experience with ERP and SOA technology to start a new practice focused on Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, developing the Compliance Oriented Integration (COI) platform, a new framework for supporting a cost effective, sustainable regulatory environment.

ZAPTHINK CONTACT:
Ronald Schmelzer
ZapThink, LLC
108 Woodlawn Rd
Baltimore, MD 21210
Phone: +1 (781) 207 0203

EXCEL PARTNER CONTACT:
David Haberfield
Excel Partner, Ltd.
One Paragon Drive
Montvale, NJ 07645
Phone: +1 (201) 391-6270