Enterprises are burdened by complex IT landscapes that drive up the cost of innovation and slow down the pace of change. The adoption of services-oriented architecture (SOA) helps organizations make their IT operations leaner, more responsive, and more agile. This white paper is for IT executives and line-of -business management. It introduces business strategies, trends and issues related to enterprise resource planning (ERP), financial management, operations management, and human capital management (HCM) that drive the consideration of enterprise services architecture (ESA). It also examines the importance of ESA and the role it plays in guiding organizations to create value, improve efficiency, and respond to evolving business needs in ERP.