University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Information Technology.In recent years we have experienced exponential growth in business innovation. emerging
technology, and integration complexity. With this unprecedented growth, the priority of
enterprise integration has shifted from patching solutions to the governance of agility.
Enterprise integration mainly deals with interoperability between virtual and physical worlds,
which is thorny by its very nature. In order to cope with rising complexity, interference
coherence between business, service. and physical components is crucial. Instead of
consolidation from fragmentation, an iteration approach is taken in driving concept and
strategy into realization. The empirical statistics indicate that the anatomy of ontological
research is essential for producing an overview of interoperability. The author's numerous
research projects demonstrate a number of factors critical in generating higher productivity
and lower risk. These factors include a higher visibility of atomic elements. a well-specified
service, and a precise architectural alignment.
By taking these successful factors into realization, this thesis proposes enterprise vertical
integration, employing a three-step strategy of componentization, transformation, and
virtualization. Componentization derives an ontology of atomic elements for the
service-based foundation. In transformation. service components are produced from these
raw elements, using a multi-discipline and three-dimensional approach to achieve
component synthesis. The final step, virtualization, is the objective of enterprise integration.
Virtualization establishes the enterprise skeleton and achieves a common-service mainstream
in the industry. Experiential evidence indicates that this higher-level, three-step approach
works effectively in minimizing risk and increasing productivity. There is particular benefit
for projects of higher complexity and larger scale.
Given the incessant business change inherent in our chaotic new age of computing, the
three-step approach relies on a new framework to streamline realization and cope with project
complexity. A Method, Evaluation, Techniques, and Application (META) framework addresses
the interference between virtual and physical layers. In this initial process it develops
component validation, analysis processes, and synthesis techniques for service transformation.
It then develops service components and common services for service virtualization. This
thesis proposes a four-pillared approach to support the META framework. It also proposes
sub-area concepts such as "pattern" and "state" to enhance the capability of the framework
before moving it into the industry mainstream.
This thesis distinguishes itself from existing literature in that very few studies in this field
address real enterprise-scale integration. None of the reviewed literature copes with the
fundamental work of enterprise issues such as ontological research or high-level strategy as
proposed by this thesis
