Semantic integration of business applications across collaborative value networks

Abstract

If we try to increase the level of automation in Business-to-Business (B2B) Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) scenarios, we confront challenges related to the resolution of data heterogeneities, service discovery and process composition. In this paper, we propose the Enterprise Interoperability Ontology (ENIO) that provides a shared, common understanding of data, services and processes within B2B integration scenarios. ENIO consists of an Upper Enterprise Interoperability Ontology (Upper ENIO), which is based on the DOLCESUMO alignment, with extensions called facets that cover several dimensions of the EAI domain. Each facet contains a relative meta-model that utilizes widely adopted standards. Finally, we demonstrate the utilization of ENIO in a real-world B2B scenario across a franchisor-franchisees collaborative value network. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.