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Background
In today’s connected world, interoperability is as important as security and reliability for IT professionals . This is due to an increase in technical heterogeneity which drives more complexity within, and on the edge of, their IT infrastructures. This leads to a greater demand for data and information integration as organizations seek to optimize process performance. Heterogeneity also leads to increased demands on information technology vendors who must ensure that their solutions are capable of successfully working in a mixed IT environment. To address these demands, Microsoft’s vision is to address interoperability holistically in order to better connect people, data, and diverse systems.
Connecting people describes the workflows and collaboration that takes place within and among organizations at the ‘people’ level. Connecting data describes the need to integrate data stores, optimize information flow, and to address semantic issues that arise with structured (e.g. databases) and unstructured data(e.g. files). Connecting diverse systems speaks to both technical and operational processes ranging from simple connectivity between internal systems, to value chain work flows.
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Microsoft’s Approach: Interoperability by Design
Interoperability has long been a feature of Microsoft’s technologies, achieved through extensive work with customers, partners, competitors, governments, and standards-setting organizations. In its approach to interoperability, Microsoft strives to bring technologies to market in a way that balances competitive innovation with an ability to connect unique systems and applications. As a result, technologies such as XML and web services, among many others, have evolved as industry standards.
Microsoft approaches interoperability by design which strives for greater ‘out of the box’ connectivity for our customers and partners. By design entails not only engineering excellence in our products, but also includes community collaboration with customers, partners, and competitors; providing access to our technologies through licensing and translation tools; and by engaging in standards-setting activities. The expected outcomes not only include better software, but also entire industry frameworks that drive greater efficiency among businesses and government entities.
- Products – Deliberate delivery of interoperability into Microsoft products and technologies such as the implementation of protocols, data formats, SDKs, and DDKs; and by utilizing HCL testing and application integration testing.
- Community – Listening to and working with customers, partners, and competitors to build bridges and coexist. We have long worked with leading IT organizations to develop technologies that promote interoperability. Our work with SugarCRM and JBoss are recent examples of how we are doing this with companies that have open source-oriented business models.
- Access – Making Microsoft technology assets available to others to enable bridge building across systems through IP Licensing, and translation tools.
- Standards – Participate in standards bodies and support standards in products to foster interoperability.
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