Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to provide insight into factors that influence the development of electronic business documents and their exchange. In particular, the chapter addresses the issue of achieving interoperability between partners involved in electronic communications. It gives an overview of problems that occur at each level of interoperability and suggests ways to resolve them in accordance with current trends. The chapter also contains a projection of future developments in the field including the use of ontologies in business documents.
TopInteroperability Issues In E-Business Documents Exchange
A certain degree of alignment between business processes is required to enable businesses to communicate electronically. Interoperability is the central point in the establishment of e-Business. The aim of interoperability is to enable information to be presented consistently between business systems regardless of the technology, applicative programming system (the utility system) or platform used. A focus on increased interoperability can yield numerous benefits for companies. It allows a larger number of partners and customers to be served by high quality services, which results in higher profit. Achieving a critical mass in the use of IT solutions cuts overall costs. The emphasis on interoperability issues increases the agility of enterprises so that the company can better respond to customer needs. It also leads to increased productivity by raising the efficiency and effectiveness of processes and allowing the management and staff to spend more time on core tasks.
Interoperability means the ability of information and communication technology (ICT) systems and of the business processes they support to exchange data and to enable the sharing of information and knowledge. (IDABC, 2008)
To successfully achieve interoperability it is necessary to define a set of norms and guidelines that apply to a specific interaction. The more members accept the same set of standards, the fewer problems arising from lack of interoperability are to be expected.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Core Components: A concept that defines a new paradigm in the design and implementation of re-usable, syntactically neutral information building blocks.
Interoperability: Ability of information and communication technology (ICT) systems and of the business processes they support to exchange data and to enable the sharing of information and knowledge.
Interoperability Framework: Set of standards and guidelines which describe the way in which organisations have agreed, or should agree, to interact with each other.
Matching: Process of finding corresponding entities between XML schemas or ontologies.
E-Business Frameworks: High-level standards that specify business documents, business processes and messaging. E-Business frameworks cover a particular business area, they are usually limitedly open and have been mostly standardized in formal organizations.