A framework for service-oriented business integration under uncertainty

Abstract

In recent years, enterprises of different sizes are faced with the challenges of efficiently integrating their business functions and associated systems. With the advent of service-oriented architecture (SOA), these enterprises are exploring the development of business integration solutions based on SOA. A service is defined as a particular business or IT function that is accessible by independent users and systems through a standardized interface. With their very nature, the results of using a business or IT service can be non-deterministic, i.e., one can't predict ahead of time the outcomes of invoking a business or IT service. For instance, a business service might provide a result short of the original expectation, which would require the use of another business service to compensate for the shortfalls. In this paper, we are going to propose a framework for service-oriented business integration under uncertainties. In this framework, we are going to describe how to achieve better business and IT integration results by composing a set of appropriate business and IT services through a service composition model with uncertainties. The framework will furthermore provide a structure of how the service composition model with uncertainties can be established and maintained. © 2005 IEEE.