Enterprise Interoperability VII

A concise reference to the state of the

art in systems interoperability, Enterprise

Interoperability VII will be of great value to engineers and computer

scientists working in manufacturing and other process industries and to

software engineers and electronic and manufacturing engineers working in the

academic environment. Furthermore, it shows how knowledge of the meaning within

information and the use to which it will be put have to be held in common

between enterprises for consistent and efficient inter-enterprise networks.

Over 30 papers, ranging from academic

research through case studies to industrial and administrative experience of

interoperability show how, in a scenario of globalised markets, where the

capacity to cooperate with other organizations efficiently is essential in

order to remain economically, socially and environmentally cost-effective, the

most innovative digitized and networked enterprises ensure that their systems and applications are able

to interoperate across heterogeneous collaborative networks of independent organizations.

This goal of interoperability is essential, not only from the perspective of

the individual enterprise but also in the business structures that are now

emerging, such as complex collaborating networks of suppliers and customers,

virtual enterprises, interconnected organisations or extended enterprises, as

well as in mergers and acquisitions. Establishing efficient and relevant

collaborative situations requires the management of interoperability from a

dynamic point of view: a relevant and efficient collaboration of organizations may

require adaptation to remain in line with changing objectives, evolving

resources, unexpected events, etc. Many of the papers contained in this, the eighth

volume of Proceedings of the I-ESA

Conferences have examples and illustrations calculated to deepen

understanding and generate new ideas.

The I-ESA¿16 Conference

from which this book is drawn was organized by the Escola de Engenharia da

Universidade do Minho, on behalf of the European Virtual Laboratory for Enterprise

Interoperability (INTEROP-VLab) and Interop VLab Portuguese Pole.