Exploitation of semantic web technology in ERP systems

Abstract

Until recently existing technologies enabling the integration of enterprise systems, use very few of the capabilities of modern research. For example, the activity of finding services, which should deliver expected enterprise functionality, has to be driven by humans. The process of assembling pieces of functionality into complex business processes also involves human interaction. The semantic web technology can be used in the context of an ERP to enable the lacking automation process. This technology can significantly contribute to overcome the deficiencies rooting from the heterogeneity of information contents and semantics generated from various sources. A challenge in Enterprise Information System is the detailed capture of activities and process information. The semantic integration of Personal Information Management Systems could be regarded as a first step towards the modernization of ERP applications. We also describe the opportunities of significantly improving business security by using ontologies. The use of ontology concepts of the Semantic Web can be regarded as an essential step in the evolution of Service Oriented Architectures for ERP applications.