Abstract. High-technology SMEs have regularly shown their capacities for creating and developing innovative services. However, their reduced size often confines them to vertical applications and limits the possibilities for broader development. Strategies grouping SMEs into collaborative networks are possible but sometimes need a strong leader to ensure credibility. On the other hand, large integrator-operators cannot be proficient in all the necessary domains, particularly when applications move very fast. They very much need the diversity and the dynamics of these SMEs to provide service packages with a common service backbone. Uniting the different actors is a challenge displaying good promises from various perspectives including sustainability. However it is necessary that the links between the different partners and their corresponding activities be correctly represented in a model to be understood. This paper proposes a new model for activities and processes in firms collaborating together in a network. The clearer understanding of organization acquired with the model is then used to discuss sustainability issues within the network.

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ftp://cui.unige.ch/iesa/I03-2--.pdfNowadays, Enterprise Integration (EI) constitutes a real and growing need for most of enterprises, especially for large and dynamic ones. It constitutes the main approach to deal with heterogeneity, and particularly to deal with semantic heterogeneity, which it forms the crucial problem of EI. This last problem is not correctly addressed by today's EI solutions that focus mainly on the technical and syntactical integration. Addressing the semantic aspect will promote EI by providing it more consistency and flexibility. Some efforts are suggested to solve the semantic problem at different level, but they are still not mature. Here, solutions based on service-oriented architectures and semantic web are promoted as nirvana of the integration problem, and they are being actively researched. The paper will outline the potential role that semantic web technologies can offer in solving some key challenges such as semantic mediation. In particular, the paper will propose a flexible approach called ODSOI (Ontology-Driven Service-Oriented Integration) that aims to extend the state-of-the-art in EI, especially in EAI (Enterprise Application Integration), in order to address the semantic problem

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International audienceNowadays collaboration among organizations in the so called Virtual Organizations (VOs) is the most advanced form to make business. Their emergence and growing are closely related to integrated information and communication technology (ICT). One of the promising approaches to carry out the agility and flexibility in VO creation is defined under the assumption of a VO Breeding Environment (VBE). To support such agile organizations, an efficient IT system and methodologies should be set in order to facilitate their daily management activities. Service-oriented software technologies provide promising means to regulate and enforce coordination of cross-organisational business services interactions but lack organizational abstractions and methodology. This paper proposes a framework for collaborative network coordination in the VBEs's context. The proposed framework satisfies flexibility and agility requirements of virtual organization using a multi layer approach combining VBE management systems layer that assist flexible VO creation, a semantic interoperability layer essential for promoting integration on the basis of common language that describe VO concepts and inherent dependencies, and a service oriented layer that introduces the concept of service domain that encapsulates business processes fitting VO requirements

This paper proposes an architecture for a high-level structure called Service Domain which orchestrates a set a of related IT services based on BPEL specification. Service Domain was developed to enhance the Web service concept to suit e-business collaboration. Service Domains are developed to be context aware. Our approach highlights the benefits of bringing Aspect Oriented Programming to ensure context aware services. Thus, context awareness is guaranteed by enhancing BPEL execution using Aspect oriented paradigms. The proposed approach is illustrated with a running example that shows how Service Domain presents different behaviours according to the context changes.