94 Business Networking • Business networking cluster: aiming at designing and developing reference models and technologies supporting organiza- tions and professionals, enhancing their collaboration and agility, and at fostering the development of suitable VO breeding environments; relevant research projects in this area are: ECOLEAD (European COLlaborative networked organizations LEADership initiative, http://www.ecolead. org), CROSSWORK (Developing Cross- 2UJDQL]DWLRQDO :RUNÀRZ )RUPDWLRQ DQG Enactment, http://www.crosswork.info), VE- Forum (the European forum for virtual organizations domains, http://www.ve-forum. org). • Enterprise interoperability: aiming at developing open and secure technologies to connect system and enterprises. Enterprise interoperability is addressed at different levels: physical integration, syntactic ap- plication integration, semantic application integration, business process integration, inter-enterprise coordination. ATHENA (Advanced Technologies for interoperability of Heterogeneous Enterprise Networks and their Applications, http://www.athena-ip.org) and INTEROP (Interoperability Research for Networked Enterprises Applications and Software, http://www.interop-noe.org) are relevant research projects in this area. • The ambient intelligence technologies for the product life-cycle cluster: aiming at enabling organizations, in a networked busi- ness environment, to deliver better products WRWKHPDUNHWLQDPRUHHI¿FLHQWZD\DQG faster, by enhancing the product and the product life-cycle processes using ambient intelligence technologies; CO-DESNET (Collaborative Demand and Supply NET- works, http://codesnet.polito.it) is a relevant research project in this area. • Digital ecosystems: aiming at providing to small and micro-systems ICT applications DQGVHUYLFHVZKLFKLPSURYHWKHLUHI¿FLHQF\ and business integration within EU regions; SATINE (Semantic-based Interoperability Infrastructure for Integrating Web Service Platforms to Peer-to-Peer Networks, http:// www.srdc.metu.edu.tr) is a relevant project in this area. Figure 1. EU targeted research clusters for enterprise networking (Adapted after VE-Forum http://www. fe-forum.org—The European Research Clusters for Enterprise Networking) Enterprise Interoperability Business Networking Ambient Intelligence Technologies for the Product Life Cycle Co DesNet ILIPT MAPPER PARADISE’ PROMISE Spider-Wiu V-CES VERITAS X-Change CrossWork ECOLEAD Ist-Bonus Mosquito MyCarEvent MyTreasury XBRL in Europe ATHENA No-Rest TrustCoM DigitalEcosystems DBE Legal-IST SATINE VE-FORUM INTEROP 95 Business Networking Reference Models, Standards, Frameworks, and Technologies Supporting Enterprise Integration and Interoperability Several reference models, frameworks, and stan- dards have been developed aiming at supporting enterprise integration and interoperability. This section concisely presents some integration refer- ence models, frameworks, and standards referring to B2B domain, and relevant infrastructures and technologies supporting enterprise integration and interoperability. According to Vernadat (1996), a reference model represents a partial model, which can be used as a basis for certain model devel- RSPHQWVRUHYDOXDWLRQV7KHWHUP³IUDPHZRUN´ refers to a collection of elements (e.g., principles, methods, tools) put together for a certain purpose, and relevant for a given domain of application. Standards can be regarded as objects (e.g., hard- ware, software), which are accepted and shared within a community (i.e., business unit, value chain) (Crargill, 1989). A. Reference Models, Architectures, and Frameworks Purdue Enterprise Reference Architecture (PERA) provides the reference model of physical and informational interactions in enterprises (Li & Williams, 2000). An extension of the model is presented in Li and Williams (2003), which aims at enhancing the functionality of PERA as reference model for a distributed enterprises environment (e.g., VE), where the business processes in a group of enterprises are synchronously and simultane- ously executed via information exchange. Generalized Enterprise Reference Architec- ture and Methodology (GERAM) (IFAC/IFIP, GH¿QHVDWRRONLWRIFRQFHSWVIRUGHVLJQLQJ and maintaining enterprises for their entire life history. GERAM refers to the methods, models, and tools, which are needed to build and maintain the integrated enterprise, a single enterprise or a network of enterprises. GERAM encapsulates and orders previous architectures (e.g., CIMOSA, PERA, GRAI/GIM), providing an overall struc- ture to use those methods and modeling tech- niques. GERAM is not a reference architecture; it is aimed at organizing enterprises’ existing integration knowledge, and its framework has the potential for application to all types of enterprises by describing the components needed in all en- terprises’ engineering and integration processes. Generalized Enterprise Reference Architecture (GERA) is GERAM’s most important component. ,W L G H Q W L ¿ H V E D V LF F R Q F H S W V W R E H X V H G L Q H QW H U SU LV H  engineering and integration. Supply chain operations reference model (SCOR) ( http://www.supply-chain.org) is a process reference model developed by the Supply-Chain Council as a cross-industry standard for supply- chain management used to describe, measure, DQG HYDOXDWH VXSSO\FKDLQ FRQ¿JXUDWLRQV 7KH 6&25PRGHOLVRUJDQL]HGDURXQG¿YHSULPDU\ management processes: plan, source, make, de- liver, and return. It is composed by a hierarchic architecture of four level details: top level (process W\SHVFRQ¿JXUDWLRQOHYHOSURFHVVFDWHJRULHV process element level (decompose processes), and implementation level (decompose process elements). Zachman’s framework for enterprise architec- ture (Zachman, 1987) describes a holistic model of an enterprise information infrastructure from six perspectives: planner, owner, designer, builder, subcontractor, and working system. Its focus is to ensure that all aspects of an enterprise are well- organized and exhibit clear relationships that will ensure a complete system regardless of the order in which they are established. :RUNÀRZUHIHUHQFHPRGHO:RUNÀRZ0DQ- agement Coalition, 1999) provides the general DUFKLWHFWXUDOIUDPHZRUNWKDWLGHQWL¿HVLQWHUIDFHV DQGFRYHUVEURDGO\¿YHDUHDVRIIXQFWLRQDOLW\EH- tween a ZRUNÀRZPDQDJHPHQWV\VWHP:I06 DQGLWVHQYLURQPHQWSURFHVVGH¿QLWLRQVLPSRUW and export; interaction with client applications 96 Business Networking and work-list handler software; software tools or applications invocation; interoperability between different WfMSs; and administration and moni- toring functions. B. Business-to-Business Integration Standards In a broad sense, the term business-to-business (B2B) integration refers to electronic message ex- change among trading partners. It includes issues VXFKDVSURGXFWFDWDORJVFODVVL¿FDWLRQV\VWHPV B2B protocol standards, synchronous/asynchro- nous communication, or back-end integration. According to Bussler (2003), B2B integration is the enabling technology and the necessary in- frastructure to perform different operations: for example, automated supply chain integration, to send XML-formatted messages over the Internet, or to send messages in a peer-to-peer (P2P) pat- tern to trading partners. According to SWWS (2003), B2B standards’ scope can be roughly separated into catalogue and FODVVL¿FDWLRQVWDQGDUGVGRFXPHQWH[FKDQJHFRO- laboration, and business processes, as follows: • Catalogue systems and classification standards include: BMEcat (http://www. bmecat.org), eCX (Electronic Catalog XML, http://www.ecx-xml.org), OCP (Open Catalog Protocol, http://www.martsoft. com/ocp) as catalogue systems, and eCl@ss (http://www.eclass-online.com) or UNSPSC (United Nations Standard Products and Services Code, http://www.unspsc.org) as FODVVL¿FDWLRQVWDQGDUGV • Document exchange comprises electronic data interchange (EDI), electronic data interchange for administration, commerce and transport (EDIFACT), eXtensible Markup Language (XML, http://www. xml.org), XML common business library (xCBL, http://www.xcbl.org), Commerce eXtensible Markup Language (cXML, http://www.cxml.org), Open Applications *URXS ,QWHJUDWLRQ 6SHFL¿FDWLRQ 2$*,6 http://www.openapplications.org), Roset- taNet implementation framework (RNIF, http://www.rosettanet.org), and Society For World-wide Interbank Financial Telecom- munications (SWIFT) standard modeling (http://www.swift.com). • Collaboration includes Electronic Busi- ness XML Initiative (ebXML, http://www. ebxml.org), Universal Business Language (UBL, http://docs.oasis-open.org/ubl), and RosettaNet (http://www.rosettanet.org) • Business processes r e f e r t o e x e c u t a b l e b u s i - ness processes, ebXML business collabo- rations (http://www.ebxml.org), business SURFHVVDFWLYLWLHVRUZRUNÀRZVBusiness Process Modeling Language (BPML)/ Business Process Query Language (BPQL), Web Services Flow Language (WSFL), Business Process Execution Language for Web Services (BPEL4WS), XML Process- ing Description Language (XPDL), 8QL¿HG Modeling Language, (UML, http://www. uml.org), and 3URFHVV 6SHFL¿FDWLRQ /DQ- guage (PSL, http://www.nist.gov.psl) are only some of the modeling languages dealing with business processes. Other relevant developments for enterprise in- tegration are: Open Buying on the Internet (OBI), Bolero.net, eCo framework, business transaction protocol (BTP), Transaction Authority Markup Language (XAML), and Microsoft BizTalk. CNO require advanced infrastructures provid- ing capabilities such as: multi-level support for LQWHURSHUDELOLW\ VHFXULW\ UHFRQ¿JXUDWLRQ DQG recovery mechanisms. The following section presents some relevant platforms and technolo- gies for CNOs. C. Infrastructures and Technologies An overview of the current approaches and WUHQGVWRZDUGVWKHHVWDEOLVKPHQWRIÀH[LEOHDQG 97 Business Networking FRQ¿JXUDEOHLQIUDVWUXFWXUHVIRU9(LVSUHVHQWHG in Camarinha-Matos and Afsarmanesh (2003). (PHUJLQJWHFKQRORJLHVIRUÀH[LEOH9(LQIUDVWUXF- tures are grouped as follows: • Open inter-operable underlying network pro - tocols (e.g., TCP/IP, CORBA-IIOP, HTTP, RMI, SOAP) • Open distributed object-oriented middleware services (e.g., J2EE Framework, CORBA Framework, Active X Framework) • Information/object exchange mechanisms and tools (e.g., XML, ebXML, WSDL) • Standardized modeling of business compo - nents, processes, and objects (e.g., EJBs) • Business process modeling tools and lan - guages (e.g., UML, UEML, WfMC XML- based Business Language, PSL) • Open and standard business process auto - PDWLRQDQGZRUNÀRZPDQDJHPHQWV\VWHP (e.g., WfMC, OMG-JointFlow) • Standard interfacing to federated multi- databases (e.g., JDBC) • Intelligent mobile agents (e.g., FIPA, OMG- MASIF, Mobile Objects) • Open and standard distributed messaging middleware systems (e.g., JMS, MS-mes- sage server, MQSeries, FIPA-ACC) • XML-based e-commerce protocols (e.g., BizTalk, RosettaNet, OBI, WIDL) • Web integration technologies (e.g., Servlets, JSP, MS-ASP, XSL) Concerning infrastructures to support VE, Ca- marinha-Matos and Afsarmanesh (2003) illustrate two of the main approaches (from the software engineering perspective): transaction-oriented layer (TOL) based frameworks, and agent-based infrastructures (ABI). TOL infrastructures add a cooperation layer to the existing IT platforms of the enterprises, and inter-enterprise communication is performed through layers interaction (e.g., transaction-ori- ented). Examples of projects developing such in- frastructures are: National Industrial Information Infrastructure Protocols (NIIIP, http://www.niiip. org), Production Planning and Management in an Extended Enterprise (PRODNET II, http://www. uninova.pt/~prodnet), and Virtual Enterprises using Groupware tools and distributed Architectures (VEGA) (Zarli & Poyet, 2001), which aimed at designing open platforms to support the basic information exchange and cooperation needs in industrial VE. For ABI, enterprises are represented as agents, and the interactions in a distributed multi-agent system determine inter-enterprise cooperation. Multi-agent Manufacturing Agile Scheduling Systems for Virtual Enterprises (MASSYVE, http://www.cordis.lu/esprit/src/962219.htm) and Dy- namic Forecast for Master Production Planning with stock and capacity constraints (DAMAS- CUS, http://www.damascos.com) are examples of projects developing such infrastructures. Table 1 presents infrastructure characteris- tics of PRODNET II, NIIIP, DAMASCUS, and VEGA projects. A more in-depth analysis concerning trends in VE support infrastructures is available in Camarinha-Matos and Afsarmanesh (2003). The authors present also limitations for current VE/VO infrastructures and collaborative frameworks. The PDLQSUREOHPVLGHQWL¿HGFRQFHUQWKHODFNRIHI- fective approach to interoperability (e.g., software inter-operation, information exchange/integra- WLRQ DQG WKH ODFN RI VWDQGDUG GH¿QLWLRQV DQG mechanisms. As pointed out by Camarinha-Matos and Afsarmanesh (2003), most of the technologies supporting integration and interoperability in a networked environment are at their beginnings, and they require considerable effort to implement DQGFRQ¿JXUHUHOLDEOHLQIUDVWUXFWXUHVVXSSRUWLQJ CNO creation and development. Several research projects are currently being pursued in the area of grid technology. Grids facilitate the sharing, selection, and aggregation of geographically-distributed resources (e.g., su- percomputers, storage systems), which can cross 98 Business Networking Project Project’s aim Infrastructure Supporting Technologies Typical services offered by the platform/ architecture developed Industry sector PRODNET II Design and develop an open platform and adequate information technology (IT) protocols and mechanisms to support virtual industrial enterprises TOL STEP, EDIFACT, Web and Internet technologies, Java • exchange of commercial data via EDIFACT mes- sages • exchange of technical product data using STEP • federated/ distributed information management • coordination module managing all cooperation- related events • monitoring of orders and production status • extended ERP/ PPC system adapted to interact with a VE environment • safe communications SMEs in general NIIIP Solve incompatibility issues within VE, allowing organizations to collaborate with each other regardless of data structures or computing environments TOL STEP, OMG technologies (e.g., IDL, CORBA), ZRUNÀRZ • synthesizes collections of resources and technolo- gies into a production system  FRQWURODQGÀRZRILQIRUPDWLRQ • trap ORB (Object Request Broker) requests • inspect and validate the request NIIIP context • route requests to other components • dispatch rules and constraint-checking process associated with the request Shipbuilding (with application in other sectors) VEGA Establish an information infrastructure which supports technical activities and business operations for VE TOL STEP, CORBA, SGML, EDI/ EDIFACT, Web technologies • Conceptual level: STEP EXPRESS product data models supporting SGML documentary models and EDIFACT messages models • Implementation level: dedicated converters sup- porting the back and forth translation of SGML documents and EDIFACT messages towards STEP format, providing remote access to any kind of information for all actors involved in a construction project Architecture construction and engineering Design and develop an open platform providing adequate IT modules and mechanisms to manage customized supply networks in a multi-enterprise scenario ABI :RUNÀRZ-DYD • enables customer relationship management at the sales level • supply chain management (inventory, production, logistics issues) and forecasting • interface between existing ERP systems SMEs in general Table 1. Examples of infrastructure characteristics and typical services offered single or multiple organizations, aiming at solv- ing large-scale computational and data-intensive problems in science, engineering, and commerce ( http://www.gridcomputing.com). Unlike other approaches (e.g., clusters, where the resources’ allocation is performed by a centralized resource manager and all nodes cooperatively work together 99 Business Networking DVDVLQJOHXQL¿HGUHVRXUFHLQWKHFDVHRIJULGV each node has its own resource manager. In the USA, large projects developed in the area of networked enterprises focus on middleware and grid technology. Started in 2001, National Science Foundation Middleware Initiative (NMI, http://www.nsf-middleware.org) aims at designing, developing, deploying, and supporting a set of reusable, expandable set of middleware func- WLRQVDQGVHUYLFHVWKDWEHQH¿WDSSOLFDWLRQVLQD networked environment. Two system integration projects started in Fall of 2003: Grid Research Integration Deployment and Support (GRIDS Center, http://www.grids-center.org) and Enterprise and Desktop Integration Technologies (EDIT, http://www.nmi-edit.org). GRIDS Center develops, tests, deploys, and supports standard tools for authentication, authorization and policy, resource discovery and directory services, and remote ac- cess to computers, data, and instruments. EDIT consortium developed a set of core middleware tools in the areas of identity and access manage- ment architectures, standards for deployments, elated directories, schemas, and tools. In Europe, the European Commission has been ¿QDQFLQJJULGUHVHDUFKVLQFHHDUO\ZKHQ WKH¿UVW(8JULGUHODWHGSURMHFWVZHUHODXQFKHG under the 5 th research Framework Program (FP5) (CORDIS, 2005, http://www.cordis.lu/ist/grids). Grid research projects under FP5 were focused on technology development and application pilots, and results of these research projects are now deployed in grid-enabled research infra- structures made available by FP6 projects (e.g., EGEE, DEISA). The approach for grid research being pursued in FP6 (2002-2006) refers to CORDIS (2005): • Technology push: aims at developing the underlying technologies and tackling issues such as integration, open standards and interoperability. • Application pull: aims at developing the enabling technologies for real-world ap- plications, such as modeling, simulation, data-mining, and collaboration. According to CORDIS (2005), the most rel- evant current EU grid initiatives are: • GRIDCOORD: (http://www.gridcoord. org) • InteliGrid:(http://www.inteliGrid.com)— interoperability of virtual organizations on a complex semantic grid • OntoGrid: (http://www.ontogrid.net)— paving the way for knowledgeable grid services and systems; • Data Mining Grid: (http://www.dat- amininggrid.org)—data mining tools and services for Grid computing environ- ments; • Provenance: (http://www.gridprovenance. org)—enabling and supporting provenance in Grids for complex problems; • K-WF Grid: (http://www.kwfgrid.net)— NQRZOHGJHEDVHGZRUNÀRZV\VWHPIRU*ULG applications; • UniGrids: (http://www.unigrids.org)—uni- form interface to grid services; • HPC4U: (http://www.hpc4u.org)—highly predictable clusters for Internet Grids; • SIMDAT: (http://www.scai.fraunhofer. de/simdat.html)—data grids for process and product development using numerical simulation and knowledge discovery; • NextGrid: (http://www.nextgrid.org)—ar- chitecture for next generation grids; • Akogrimo: (http://www.mobilegrids. org)—access to knowledge through the grid in a mobile world; and • CoreGRID: (http://www.coregrid.net)— European research network on foundations, software infrastructures, and applications for large-scale distributed grid and peer-to- peer technologies. 100 Business Networking 'HVSLWHWKHH[LVWHQFHRIDVLJQL¿FDQWQXPEHU of computer-based tools aiming at enterprise in- WHJUDWLRQDQGLQWHURSHUDELOLW\DQGWKHVFLHQWL¿F developments in the business networking area, it is generally accepted that more work needs to be done since available solutions are usually FXPEHUVRPHDQGODFNLQÀH[LELOLW\WRUHVSRQG to the most recent technological outcomes, very RIWHQIRFXVLQJRQYHU\VSHFL¿FDVSHFWV7KHVFL- HQWL¿FFRPPXQLW\DJUHHVWKDWTXHVWLRQVUHODWHG to formalization, conceptual development, and semantic integration (namely, concerning the formal description of the domain or ontology) need to be urgently developed (Camarinha-Ma- tos, 2003). RELEVANT APPROACHES Relevant initiatives, such as papiNet, ebXML, freebXML, and RosettaNet are discussed more in detail in the fallowing paragraphs. papiNET papiNET (http://www.papinet.org) is an interna- tional paper and forest products industry e-busi- ness initiative. It is a set of standard electronic GRFXPHQWVZKLFKIDFLOLWDWHVWKHÀRZRILQIRUPD- tion among parties engaged in buying, selling, and distribution of paper and forest products. The papiNet Standards Group has the vision of enterprises of any size and in any geographical location meeting and conducting the business of paper, printing, and publishing with each other through the exchange of XML-based messages. SDSL1HW DLPV DW LQFUHDVLQJ HI¿FLHQF\ LQ transaction and marketplace activities through documented business processes with supporting standard XML messages and consistent data GH¿QLWLRQV FRPPRQ WHUPLQRORJ\ DQGIRUPDWV real-time exchange of information through the Internet, in order to ensure standards’ interoper- ability among trading partners (in the paper and forest products industry, or in other industries). papiNet standard is a set of common electronic formats and terminology for the paper and forest products industry, designed to facilitate applica- tion-to-application information exchange. Its interoperability guidelines are based on ebXML PHVVDJHVHUYLFHVSHFL¿FDWLRQ0HVVDJHVKDYHD YHU\XQLIRUPVWUXFW XUHZLWKFRPPRQGH¿QLWLRQV FRQWDLQHG LQ WKH ¿OH WKDW LV VKDUHG DPRQJ DOO WKHPHVVDJHVFKHPD¿OHV7KHPRVWSUHYDOHQWO\ implemented message is delivery message, fol- ORZHGE\WKHSXUFKDVHRUGHURUGHUFRQ¿UPDWLRQ and invoice ( http://www.papinet.org). papiNet has formally accepted from ebXML the message service and collaboration (CPPA) aspects. The internal integration information is used to determine how ebXML envelope (which acts as a common interface between systems) is used, when received, and how it is going to be created the ebXML envelope when sending. Figure 2 illustrates the papiNet interoperability approach. It is intended that any trading partner can open a message (payload) sent to them, regardless of the messaging service which was used. ebXML and freebXML eXtensible Markup Language (ebXML, http:// www.ebxml.org LV D VHW RI VSHFL¿FDWLRQV WKDW together enable a modular electronic business framework. ebXML vision is to enable a global electronic marketplace where enterprises of any size and in any geographical location can meet and conduct business with each other through the exchange of XML-based messages. Several industries endorse ebXML (e.g, computer/technol- ogy companies, banking, shipping). One of the core values of ebXML is its vision of ubiquity from a technology perspective (Dour- naee, 2004). ebXML is built around XML, SOAP, HTTP, and SMTP—all open standards. ebXML provides a complete framework for business interactions, all delivered as a set of YHQGRUQHXWUDOVSHFL¿FDWLRQVDQGWKHFRQFUHWH 101 Business Networking VHWRIHE;0/VSHFL¿FDWLRQVUHIHUVWRWKHIROORZ- ing concepts: • Centralized shared registry: Registry in- formation model (ebRIM), registry service VSHFL¿FDWLRQVHE56 • Business processes and collaboration: %XVLQHVV SURFHVVHV VSHFL¿FDWLRQ VFKHPD HE%366 FROODERUDWLRQSURWRFRO SUR¿OH DQGDJUHHPHQWVSHFL¿FDWLRQHE&33$ • Messaging:0HVVDJHVHUYLFHVSHFL¿FDWLRQ (ebMS). ebXML registry is similar to a database, be- ing able to represent a large range of objects (e.g., XML schemas, business process descriptions, ebXML core components, UML models, generic trading partner information). ebXML registry DUFKLWHFWXUHLVGH¿QHGLQWHUPVRIUHJLVWU\VHUYLFH DQG UHJLVWU\ FOLHQW 7KH ¿UVW RQH SURYLGHV WZR LQWHUIDFHVGH¿QHGXVLQJWeb Service Description Language (WSDL): • Life-cycle management interface: used to manage the life cycle of the objects • Query management interface: used to make queries against a registry HE5,0LVGH¿QLQJDQGPDQDJLQJLQWHURSHUDEOH registries and repositories. The core information model used by ebXML registry is a tree-based FODVVL¿FDWLRQVFKHPHDQGWKHLQIRUPDWLRQHJ information referring to business partners, indus- tries) is arranged in a hierarchy. HE%366LVXVHGWRGH¿QHWKHbusiness processes (BPs) and business documents (BDs) involved. BPs and BDs are designed and documented prior to their use. They are usually composed from existing components and processes. Both of them are documented using ebBPSS, and stored in an ebXML registry so that they can be referred from other structures (e.g., PPs, CPAs). ebBPSS is used to specify public business processes. It provides an XML schema to specify binary collaborations among parties. A binary collaboration may consist of multiple business WUDQVDFWLRQVHDFKRQHRIWKHPEHLQJVSHFL¿HGLQ terms of business envelopes, business documents, and business signals which are communicated among parties. A FROODERUDWLRQSURWRFROSUR¿OH&33SURYLGHV the information needed to do business with a VSHFL¿FWUDGLQJSDUWQHUHJEXVLQHVVSURFHVVHV document formats). When two parties trade for WKH ¿UVW WLPH WKHLU &33V DUH FRPELQHG LQWR D collaboration protocol agreement (CPA), which serves as the basis for the interaction. ebCPPA VSHFL¿HV WKH ;0/ VFKHPD IRU &33 DQG &3$ and includes guidelines to form a CPA from two &33V&33GH¿QHVWKHWHFKQLFDOFDSDELOLWLHVRI a partner engaged in electronic business col- laborations with other partners by exchanging Figure 2. papiNet: Interoperability standard approach (Adapted after papiNet, 2004) Integration Information papiNet Document Any Messenger ebXML envelope papiNet Document Any Messenger ebXML envelope papiNet Document Integration Information papiNet Document Sender Receiver 102 Business Networking ele ct ron ic messa ge s. It includes eleme nt s su ch as: party’s information (e.g., contact name), transport protocol, transport security protocol, messaging protocol. CPA is a special business agreement WLHGWRDVSHFL¿FWUDQVDFWLRQDQGPDNHVH[SOLFLW requirements derived from the intersection of the various CPP instances published by each of the trading partners. In order to assure the communication among applications and business processes from different business partners, it is necessary to capture criti- cal information upon which organizations must agree. An electronic trading partner agreement (TPA) registers such information. A TPA is an ;0/GRFXPHQWWKDWUHFRUGVVSHFL¿FWHFKQRORJ\ parameters for conducting electronic business HJSDUWQHULGHQWL¿FDWLRQFRPPXQLFDWLRQSUR- tocol, security for message exchanges). HE06VSHFL¿FDWLRQGH¿QHVWKHHE;0/PHV- sage service protocol, and it is designed to enable a secure and reliable exchange of business mes- VDJHVEHWZHHQWUDGLQJSDUWQHUV7KHVSHFL¿FDWLRQ for the message-based service invocation focuses RQ GH¿QLQJ D FRPPXQLFDWLRQ SURWRFRO QHXWUDO method for exchanging electronic business mes- VDJHV  G H ¿ Q L QJVSH F L ¿FHQYHORSLQJF R Q VW U X F W VIRU a secure and reliable exchange of messages, and a VSHFL¿FHQYHORSLQJWHFKQLTXHDOORZLQJPHVVDJHV to contain payloads of any format type. ebXML is designed to meet enterprises’ needs to conduct electronic business, by providing: an infrastructure which ensures data communication interoperability (e.g., standard message transport mechanism, business service interface); a seman- tic framework supporting business interoper- DELOLW\ HJ PHWDPRGHO IRU GH¿QLQJ EXVLQHVV processes and information models, set of reusable core components); and a discovery mechanism enabling enterprises to discover each other, to reach an agreement and to conduct business (e.g., shared repository network) (Campbell, 2001). A high-level presentation on how an ebXML interaction occurs can be framed in terms of HE;0/¶VWKUHHIXQFWLRQDOSKDVHVGH¿QHGE\WKH ebXML technical architecture. Each functional SKDVHGH¿QHVLWVRZQVHFXULW\UHTXLUHPHQWVDQG processes: implementation phase, discovery and retrieval phase, and run-time phase (Dournaee, 2004). The implementation phase starts when a trad- ing partner makes an active decision to do business using ebXML framework. During this phase, the trading partner will analyze its business processes and will publish them into a registry. An actual ebXML implementation is made then, aiming at attaining a working ebXML framework, and includes a set of published business processes, the CPP, and interfaces. During discovery and retrieval phase, trading partners use the registry to discover business processes and interfaces published by other trad- LQJSDUWQHUVHJWKH&33IRUDVSHFL¿FSDUWQHU is exchanged). The run-time phase is concerned with the actual business transactions and choreography of messages exchanged between trading part- ners. Typically, there is no run-time access to the registry during this phase. Firstly, each trading partner is responsible for obtaining the necessary CPP document for a potential business partner. Usually, CPP is retrieved from an ebXML regis- try. Secondly, each partner derives the CPA, and ¿QDOO\WKHWUDGLQJSDUWQHUVFDQVWDUWSHUIRUPLQJ business transactions. Figure 3 illustrates run- time phase. ebXML aims at creating a generic meta-model for business processes which allows it to model each business process in a machine-readable way. This can enable companies to deploy software that DXWRPDWLFDOO\DGDSWVWRVSHFL¿FEXVLQHVVSURFHVVHV of different trading partners (SWWS, 2003). HE;0/VSHFL¿FDWLRQVKDYHPDWXUHGUDSLGO\ over the past years, and its relevance for enterprise integration and interoperability in a collaborative business environment is emphasized by the aug- menting number of research projects and technol- ogy infrastructures based on ebXML standard. Both OASIS and UN/CEFEACT pursued several 103 Business Networking standards developments, in real-world projects, combining ebXML with other technologies (e.g., Web services) in key industry sectors and govern- ment (ebXML, 2003). Examples of such projects are: JXTA Project, in the USA; COMOS Project &OXVWHU2I6\VWHPVRI0HWDGDWDIRU2I¿FLDO6WD- tistics), in Europe; and Kasumi B2B integration project in Japan. There is also underway a relevant project between RosettaNet ( http://www.rosettanet. org) and ebXML, making use of ebXML BPSS, Registry, and ebMS. RosettaNet has adopted BPSS as they pursue the next evolution of the PIPs, and it is operating private registry with their techni- cal dictionary content loaded. A more complete list of research projects focusing on ebXML is available in ebXML (2003). Very few analytical comparisons are available concerning EI standards and technologies, based on different criteria. For instance, related to B2B standards, an interesting approach for the com- parison of ebXML and RosettaNet was made by Pusnik, Juric, Rozman, and Sumak (2000), and Nurmilaakso and Kotinurmi (2004) compares XML-based B2B integration frameworks. Comparing ebXML and Web Services, both of them use SOAP for message transport. XML Web services have a loosely coupled wire stack WKDWFRQVLVWVRIVHSDUDWHVSHFL¿FDWLRQVIRUUHOLDEOH transport and security, while ebXML rolls all this functionality into its messaging standard (ebMS), making use of different technologies. For the description of the discovery stacks, XML Web services use Web Services Description Language, (WSDL, http://www.w3.org/TR/wsdl) and universal description, discovery and integration protocol, (UDDI, http://www.uddi.org), while for ebXML these description and discovery mechanisms are part of ebXML registry. ebXML includes ad- GLWLRQDOVSHFL¿FDWLRQVIRUEXVLQHVVSURFHVVDQG collaboration. In fact, ebXML is a self-contained VHWRIVSHFL¿FDWLRQVDQGGRHVQRWUHO\RQHPHUJLQJ VWDQGDUGVDQGVSHFL¿FDWLRQV'RXUQDHH freebXML ( http://www.freebxml.org) is an initiative aiming at fostering the development and adoption of ebXML and related technolo- gies through software and experience sharing. Its objectives are to create a centralized site for WKHVKDULQJRI³IUHH´HE;0/FRGHDQGDSSOLFD- tions, and to promote ebXML as an e-commerce enabling technology. Relevant research projects have been developed, aiming at achieving these objectives (e.g., Hermes Message Service Han- dler, ebMail). Messaging service is a key component of ebX- ML technical architecture. ebMS utilizes SOAP, Internet transport protocols, and other security standards, aiming at providing enterprises with a standardized, reliable, and secure infrastructure for the exchange of business documents. Figure 3. ebXML run-time phase (Adapted after Dournaee, 2004) Trading Partner 1 ebXML Registry CPP2 CPP1 Trading Partner 2 CPP1 CPP2 CPP1 CPP2 Registers CPP1 Registers CPP2 CPA (1,2) CPA (1,2) ebMS Messages . (BPs) and business documents (BDs) involved. BPs and BDs are designed and documented prior to their use. They are usually composed from existing components and processes. Both of them are documented. Heterogeneous Enterprise Networks and their Applications, http://www.athena-ip.org) and INTEROP (Interoperability Research for Networked Enterprises Applications and Software, http://www.interop-noe.org) are. integration and interoperability. This section concisely presents some integration refer- ence models, frameworks, and standards referring to B2B domain, and relevant infrastructures and technologies