Digitalized Cross-organizational Interoperability in Industrial Business Ecosystems: Implications and Models for Process Industry

Interoperability between industrial organizations is a persistent challenge, particularly as the goal is to enable digitalized communications between information and communications technology (ICT) systems operated by different parties. This paper studies how the current interoperability tools and models support the foundations of digitalized business-to-business communication. While the focus area is plant lifecycle information in process industry, covering investment projects as well as operations and maintenance (O&M), the problems can be generalized to all manufacturing. The results of this study suggest that the current interoperability models and standards offer little support for building cross-organizational interoperability with digitalized tools. Thus, there should be consortia that span the enterprises in process industry, aiming to develop the architecture of collaborative business networks that fulfil sustainable interoperability and the related governance. To accomplish this goal, this paper shows what elements exist and what are lacking, mapping these to European Interoperability Framework (EIF).