SOA Term

Description

Agentic AI Term

Description

Service/Microservice

A discrete unit of functionality that can be accessed remotely and acted upon independently

Agent

An autonomous AI entity that can perform specific tasks, make decisions, and interact with other agents

Common Services

Reusable services that provide shared functionality across multiple applications

Agentic Tools

Reusable AI capabilities and functions that agents can utilize to perform common tasks

Service Contract

A formal specification defining how to interact with a service, including inputs, outputs, and constraints

Agent Contract

A specification defining an agent's capabilities, interaction protocols, and behavioral constraints

Service Registry

A directory where services are published and can be discovered by consumers

Agent Catalog

A repository where agents are registered and can be discovered by other agents or orchestrators

Service Bus (ESB)

Enterprise service bus providing message routing, transformation, and integration capabilities

Execution Mesh

Central orchestration layer managing agent lifecycle, routing, and coordination

Orchestration (BPEL)

Coordinating multiple services to execute complex business processes

Agentic Orchestrator

System that coordinates multiple agents to execute complex automated workflows

Loose Coupling

Services are designed to have minimal dependencies on each other

Agent Autonomy

Agents operate independently with minimal dependencies, making autonomous decisions

Service Granularity

The level of functionality encapsulated within a single service

Agent Scope

The breadth and depth of responsibilities assigned to a specific agent

Interoperability

Ability of different systems and services to work together effectively

Cross-Agent Standards

Protocols and standards enabling agents from different systems to collaborate

Service Composition

Combining multiple services to create higher-level business functionality

Agent Assembly (or Agent Build)

Combining multiple agents to create complex autonomous systems and workflows

SLA

Service Level Agreement defining performance, availability, and quality metrics

Agent QoS

Quality of Service metrics defining agent performance, reliability, and response standards

Message Exchange 

Structured communication patterns between services

Agent Communication Protocol (ACP)

Standardized methods for agents to exchange information and coordinate actions

Enterprise Integration Patterns (EIP)

Standard patterns for integrating enterprise applications and services

Agent Patterns

Reusable design patterns for agent interaction, coordination, and integration

Service Integration Protocol

Standard protocols for web service communication and data exchange

Agent Integration Protocol (AIP)

Standardized interfaces and protocols for agent communication and integration

Microservices

Architectural approach using small, independently deployable services

Agent Tools

Specialized, focused AI agents designed for specific tasks within larger systems

Event-Driven Architecture

Architecture where services respond to and produce events for loose coupling

Agent Triggers

Event-based activation mechanisms that prompt agents to take specific actions

Service Virtualization

Creating virtual representations of services for testing and development

Agent Virtualization

Creating test agents by abstracting real world conditions for testing, training, and development purposes

Governance

Policies, processes, and controls for managing services throughout their lifecycle

Agentic Governance

Framework for managing agent behavior, compliance, ethics, and lifecycle management