The concept of virtualization and sharing of resources is not a new one. In fact, the idea of standardization has been around since the industrial revolution made it possible to mass produce identical parts. Because of this, manufacturing and production costs declined steeply, as businesses no longer needed to specialize in every aspect of production. And now, the same idea is being applied in the information age. Virtualization and service orientation are allowing businesses to share or sell common components to allow for faster and cheaper development times. This article discusses the way service orientation came about, and provides a brief overview of what it can offer.