Towards Enterprise Interoperability Service Utilities...IWEI 2008, 18 September 2008, Munich, Germany ICT 3 COIN in one slide COIN MOTTO: “Enterprise Interoperability and Enterprise

ICT

Enterprise COllaboration & INteroperability

IWEI 2008, 18 September 2008, Munich, Germany 1

Towards Enterprise Interoperability Service Utilities

Brian Elvesæter1, Francesco Taglino2, Enrico Del Grosso3, Gorka Benguria4 and Alberto Capellini5

1 SINTEF ICT, Oslo, Norway, [email protected] CNR-IASI, Roma, Italy, [email protected] TXT e-Solutions, Milano, Italy, [email protected] ESI-Tecnalia, Zamudio, Spain, [email protected] ATOS, Madrid, Spain, [email protected]

ICT 2IWEI 2008, 18 September 2008, Munich, Germany

Outline of presentation

• COIN in one slide• Enterprise interoperability challenges and ISU• Software-as-a-Service Utility (SaaS-U)• Enterprise interoperability baseline (Related work)• COIN EI services framework• Summary of state-of-the-art analysis• Proposed COIN baseline EI services• Conclusion and future work• Position statement• Questions (and answers)


COIN in one slide

COIN MOTTO: “Enterprise Interoperability and Enterprise Collaboration are the two sides of the same COIN”

• The SIDE A of the COIN: Enterprise Collaboration

• The SIDE B of the COIN: Enterprise Interoperability

• The Substrate of the COIN: Service Platform

• The Value of the COIN: Software as a Service Utility SaaS-U

• The Market of the COIN: Manufacturing Enterprises (mainly SMEs)


Enterprise interoperability challenges

• Enterprise Interoperability [1] is a relatively recent term that describes a field of activity with the aim to improve the manner in which enterprises, by means of information and communications technology (ICT), interoperate with other enterprises, organisations, or with other business units of the same enterprise, in order to conduct their business.• Interoperability Service Utility (ISU) which envisions interoperability

support as utility-like capabilities that needs to be supported by an enabling system of services for delivering basic interoperability to enterprises, independent of particular IT deployment. The term ISU is used to denote this overall system. The ISU is envisaged to provide interoperability as a technical, commoditised functionality, delivered as services.

• Web technologies for Enterprise Interoperability• Knowledge-oriented collaboration• Science base for Enterprise Interoperability


Software-as-a-Service Utility (SaaS-U)

• The ISU challenge is addressed by COIN by providing a service infrastructure for Enterprise Interoperability in the business context of Enterprise Collaboration.

• New business concept – the Software-as-a-Service Utility (SaaS-U) model.

• The SaaS-U paradigm fits well fit the ISU concepts and can be seen as a software application delivery model where a software vendor develops Web-native software services and hosts and operates them for use by its customers over the Internet.

• Customers do not pay for owning the software itself any longer but rather for using it on-demand.

• They use it through an API accessible over the Web and often written using Web services.

• The baseline EI services will be offered as Semantic Web Services on top of the WSMX environment [17].


Enterprise interoperability(EI) baseline

• The COIN project aims to provide open source implementations of all its services so thefocus of the analysis has been on open source software solutions.

• A first preliminary study of the enterprise interoperability (EI) baseline led us to identify 3categories of results with candidates to be part of the EI services baseline.

SP5 COIN Enterprise Interoperability Baseline Services

Item/result Type of result Source Access

Models, Standards:MDI, UPMS, POP*, EIMM, EIDM, IIAM, BIF, AIF, EI Roadmap, ISU Grand Challenge, IdaBC EIF, SOKU

Framework+models(SINTEF, IC Focus, ESI)

ATHENA, INTEROP, SECSE, Modelware DGINFSO, OMG

Free and Open-to-all AccessOSS (Eclipse Public License)

Knowledge Interop.:ATHOS, ASTAR, ARGOS, ARES, MOMO, Domain Ontologies, UBL-based EIB, Semantic Reconciliation Rules

Framework+software(CNR, TXT, ESI, SINTEF)

ATHENA. INTEROP, Abilities, OASIS

OSS GPL License (sourceforge)Source Code Access (COIN partners)Free and Open-to-all Access

Business Interop.:BPMN, BPEL, iBPM, BPEL4PEOPLE, CoCoS, PIM4SOA, Process-Workflow Mining

Framework+software(TXT+UIBK+TUV)

OMG,ECOLEAD InContext Ecospace SFIDAPMI

Source Code Access (COIN partners)Free and Open-to-all Access


Unified

Federated

Integrated

ConceptualTechnological

Organisational

Business

Process

Service

Data

Interoperabilitybarriers

Enterpriselevels

Interoperabilityapproaches

Unified

Federated

Integrated

ConceptualTechnological

Organisational

Business

Process

Service

Data

Interoperabilitybarriers

Enterpriselevels

Interoperabilityapproaches

Enterprise

(Business)Processes

Services

Information/Data

Cross-OrganisationalBusiness Processes

Collaborative EnterpriseModelling

Flexible Execution and Composition of Services

Information/DataInteroperability

Mod

el-D

riven

Inte

rope

rabi

lity

Sem

antic

Med

iatio

n In

tero

pera

bilit

y Enterprise

(Business)Processes

Services

Information/Data

Provided Required

Organisational interoperability

Semantic interoperability

Technical interoperability

Organisational interoperability

Semantic interoperability

Technical interoperability

ARIS ZACHMANATHENA

INTEROP EIF 1.0 EIF 2.0 (draft)

Interoperability & EA frameworks


Refining the EI baselineaccording to the AIF

• The three EI baseline categories (1) models/standards, (2) knowledge and(3) business interoperability were refined into 6 EI service categories (1)model-driven, (2) enterprise modelling, (3) business process, (4)service*, (5) information/data and (6) semantic mediation according to theATHENA Interoperability Framework (AIF) which was chosen as the baselinefor the COIN EI Services Framework.

Enterprise

(Business)Processes

Services

Information/Data

Cross-OrganisationalBusiness Processes

Collaborative EnterpriseModelling

Flexible Execution and Composition of Services

Information/DataInteroperability

Mod

el-D

riven

Inte

rope

rabi

lity

Sem

antic

Med

iatio

n In

tero

pera

bilit

y Enterprise

(Business)Processes

Services

Information/Data

Provided Required

*Serviceinteroperability

is addressed bythe COIN Service

Platform (SP3)


Five service categories for EI

• Model-driven interoperability services support enterprises to formalise, exchange and align models that are relevant to set up collaborations.

• Enterprise modelling interoperability services support enterprises to factually co-operate with other, external organisations in spite of e.g., different working practices, legislations, cultures and commercial approaches.

• Business process interoperability services support enterprises to make proper external views of enterprise internal processes synchronised by a collaborative inter-enterprise business process.

• Semantic mediation interoperability services support enterprises to apply ontology-based techniques for semantic mediation such as semantic reconciliation of business documents in order to support interoperability among heterogeneous software applications.

• Data interoperability services support enterprises to exchange and share business documents among organizations, by filling interoperability gaps related to the payload (format and content) and to the messages and/or structures to be exchanged.


State-of-the-art analysis of existing EI tools/services (from FP6 projects)

EI framework category

Sub-service category Tools/services analysedModel-driveninteroperability services

Metamodelling Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF)

Language engineering Eclipse Graphical Editing Framework (GEF), Eclipse Graphical Modeling Framework (GMF), UML profiles

Model mapping and transformation MODELWARE Model Transformation Tool Suite (MTTS), ATL model-to-model transformation tool suite, MOFScript model-to-text transformation tool suite

Method engineering Eclipse Process Framework (EPF)

Enterprise modelling interoperability services

Enterprise modelling UEML, EMPOSME, POP*, POP* profile, Reference Model for Collaborative Networks, SOA Tools Project (STP)

Enterprise models interchange UEML, POP*, METIS POP*, ARIS POP*, GRAI Tools POP*, Mo2Go POP*

Enterprise model deployment POP*, PIM4SOA, POP* ► PIM4SOA, PIM4SOA ► WSA, POP* ► Maestro, POP* ► JPDL

Enterprise interoperability maturity assessment Enterprise Interoperability Maturity Model (EIMM)

Business process interoperability services

Cross-organizational business process modelling Maestro modelling tool

Semantic business process modelling SUPER semantic business process modelling tool

Business processes management SUPER Management Tool

Business process monitoring SUPER Monitoring Tool

Business process analysis SUPER analysis

Semantic mediation interoperability services

Ontology editing ATHOS, KAON, OILEd, OntoEdit, Protégé

Ontology engineering and maintenance ODE/WebODE, On-To-Knowledge, UPON

Semantic annotation ASTAR, MWSAF, WSMO Studio, Cohse, MnM, OntoMat-Annotizer

Semantic transformation rules building ARGOS, OWLmt, WSMT, Semantic Bridging module

Semantic reconciliation engine ARES, MAFRA Execution Engine, OWLmt Engine, WSMW Run-time Data Mediator

Data interoperability services

Data mapping GIMMI Mapping Wizard, PROBO Legacy Integration Module, Semaphore

Data infrastructure framework Apache Tuscany, Service Data Object (SDO), Data Access Service (DAS)

Business document modelling ABILITIES UBL business document modelling

Business document interchange ABILITIES Service Bus

Business document process integration ABILITIES Interconnection of Business Processes


Lessons learnt

• The research projects on interoperability in the European Commission Sixth Framework Programme have developed a vast set of standalone software products and tools, as well as some Web-based services to address interoperability issues. However, some of these solutions are difficult to integrate and use for SMEs.

• Experiences from piloting activities in the ATHENA project suggested that Enterprise Interoperability is very challenging and that the expected gains from interoperability research will consist in finding technologies and methods that will fasten interconnection of applications through standardised Web infrastructure for software application communication and for collaboration [21].

• In the COIN context, Enterprise Interoperability services provide functionality for applying IT solutions that overcome interoperability gaps between two or more enterprises and thus enabling them to set-up and run collaborations.

• The main goal of the EI services is to improve interoperability, mainly for SMEs, which means to reduce the costs of data reconciliation, systems integration and business processes synchronization and harmonization.


Proposed COIN baseline EI servicesEI services framework category

Sub-service category Services to be implemented for M12Model-driven interoperability services

Metamodelling -

Language engineering -

Model mapping and transformation COIN Model Transformation Service Engine

Method engineering -

Enterprise modelling interoperability services

Enterprise modelling -

Enterprise models interchange COIN POP* Transformation Service

Enterprise model deployment

Enterprise interoperability maturity assessment COIN Enterprise Interoperability Maturity Assessment Service

Business process interoperability services

Cross-organizational business process modelling -

Semantic business process modelling COIN Semantic Business Process Modelling Service

Business processes management COIN Semantic Business Process Management Service

Business process monitoring -

Business process analysis -

Semantic mediation interoperability services

Ontology editing Athos Ontology Service

Ontology engineering and maintenance -

Semantic annotation Astar Semantic Annotation Service

Semantic transformation rules building Argos Semantic Transformation Rules Service

Semantic reconciliation engine Ares Semantic Reconciliation Service

Data interoperability services

Data mapping COIN Massive Data Interoperability Service

Data infrastructure framework -

Business document modelling -

Business document interchange COIN Transactional Data Interoperability Service

Business document process integration -


Specification of baseline EI services

• COIN Deliverable D5.1.1 ”State-of-the-Art and Baseline EI Services Specifications” (July 2008, to be released at http://www.coin-ip.eu)


Benefits of COIN baseline EI services# COIN baseline EI service Provider Benefits for users

1 COIN Model Transformation Service Engine

SINTEF The model transformation service engine will be a service entry point for storing model transformations that are aimed at aligning the huge diversity of models used in the design, integration and implementation tasks of enterprise applications and systems.

2 COIN POP* Transformation Service ESI POP* Transformation service will be exposed a semantic Web service in the COIN platform. This service will provide the functionality of modelling in the context of POP* to JPDL transformation. The results of the transformation should be published into the open source JBPMN platform.

3 COIN Enterprise Interoperability Maturity Assessment Service

ESI The EIMA will help to assess an organization's maturity level concerning the use of enterprise models as well as the capability of these models to enable the company to be part of collaboration. Based on this assessment, companies will be guided to choose the right concepts for improving their capabilities, by taking into account actual market and enterprise challenges. Following a lightweight scope, the performance of this assessment will be done through an informal evaluation based on a questionnaire and involving few resources of the organization.

4 COIN Semantic Business Process Modelling Service

ATOS The Semantic BP service will help to reduce the complexity of tasks related to transformation between different BP models as well as transformation in executable process models with semantic annotations.

5 COIN Semantic Business Process Management Service

ATOS The BP Management service will to manage the life cycle of deployed BP models independently on the underlying engines actually executing the model.

6 Athos Ontology Service CNR The AthosOntologyService will provide functionalities for ontology management. Ontology is a pre-requisite for semantics-based mediation and reconciliation of business documents.

7 Astar Semantic Annotation Service CNR The AstarSemanticAnnotationService will provide functionalities for management of semantic annotations. Semantic annotation allows digital resources to be described in terms of a common reference represented by a domain ontology. Such an activity represents a first identification of semantic and structural mismatches among different information structures (e.g., business document schemas), which is needed for fulfilling interoperability issues among heterogeneous information systems.

8 Argos Semantic Transformation Rules Service

CNR The ArgosSemanticTransformationRulesService will provide functionalities for management of transformation rules service. Transformation rules represent the semantic mapping able to drive the mediation and reconciliation.

9 Ares Semantic Reconciliation Service CNR The AresSemanticReconciliationService will represents the final step towards the actual mediation and reconciliation of business documents among heterogeneous information systems.

10 COIN Massive Data Interoperability Service

TXT The massive data interoperability is a service to allow communication among a set of multiple data providers and a set of multiple data consumers. In a multi-point communication, the interoperability problem grows exponentially according to the number of entities involved in the communication. The service will allow the data providers to “map” their data structure to the requested schema and “fill” the schema itself with the data coming from their data sources.

11 COIN Transactional Data Interoperability Service

TXT The transactional data interoperability is a service that allows the communication between two actors: a customer and a supplier. The scenario of the communication is the exchange of business documents in the order to invoice procurement process.


Conclusions and future work

• Position the COIN service platform as a technology enabler for developing and offering Enterprise Interoperability services according to the Software-as-a-Service Utility (SaaS-U) paradigm.

• Candidates for the development of baseline EI services based on state-of-the-art analysis of previous FP6 research projects. The development of these services will follow two phases.• The first phase involves wrapping and potentially re-implementing parts of

the solutions as Web services. (Ongoing)• The second phase involves enriching the service descriptions with

semantics in order to make them Semantic Web Services. (End of 2008)• Future work focused on developing new and innovative EI services for

• (1) information interoperability – new service communication and coordination in business collaborations.

• (2) knowledge interoperability – develop semantic profiles and the environment to expose, compare and semantically mediate such profiles.

• (3) business interoperability – provide new formalisms and languages for interactive and collaborative BPM.


Position statement: Application architectures vs. “user-involving” modelling and execution architectures

Interactive modelling and executionplatform with “user-involving” modellingand execution services.• The user “designs” the interoperation.

Integrated workplace

#napplications

y1

r

a

y2

s

b

Layered and hardwired applicationarchitecture with prescribed solutionscoded by different programmers.• The enterprise application integrator

“fixes” the interoperability issues.

EAI


References

• [1] M.-S. Li, R. Cabral, G. Doumeingts, and K. Popplewell, "Enterprise Interoperability Research Roadmap, Final Version, Version 4.0", July 2006.

• [17] WSMX, "WSMX (Web Service Modelling eXecution environment)". http://www.wsmx.org:8080/wsmxsite/

• [21] ATHENA A4, "D.A4.2: Specification of Interoperability Framework and Profiles, Guidelines and Best Practices", ATHENA IP, Deliverable D.A4.2, 2007. http://interop-vlab.eu/ei_public_deliverables/athena-deliverables/


Thanks for your attention!


Questions?

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Towards Enterprise Interoperability Service Utilities...IWEI 2008, 18 September 2008, Munich, Germany ICT 3 COIN in one slide COIN MOTTO: “Enterprise Interoperability and Enterprise