A Multifaceted Comparison for Selecting Web-Based B2B Integration Frameworks
Kamrul Ahsan1,2
- 1School of Information Sciences, University of Tampere, Finland {kamrul.ahsan}@uta.fi
- 2E-Bros Oy Haarlankatu 1 F, 33230 Tampere, Finland {kamrul.ahsan}@e-bros.fi
Abstract
Today an organization’s success depends on collaboration among its business partners. In order for organizations to collaborate with their business partners through its information system, there is a great need to implement B2B integration (B2Bi) frameworks. B2Bi framework is the secured coordination of information among businesses and their information systems. The emergence of internet technologies such as eXtended Markup Language (XML) and Web Services (WS) have further contributed to the development of B2Bi frameworks. Over the years, numbers of B2Bi frameworks have been proposed and adopted by the organizations. Although there are many similarities (document-centric, XML based and other features) among these frameworks, there also many dissimilarities (repositories, architecture, ontology) as well. Thus, it is very difficult for organizations to choose the right framework for B2Bi. In this paper, a multifaceted comparison model is presented to ease the B2Bi framework selection process for the prospective decision-maker. The comparison model comprises of five(5) steps as: i) Feature Analysis (FEA-from DESMET), ii) Taxonomy of features into classes, iii) Use of CFDs to present the profile(qualitative analysis), iv) Use of Kiviat diagrams to present quantitative analysis, and finally v) Review.