Project No.: 5003-057751 01.01.00 - 31.12.01
Project leader: Prof. Gustavo Alonso, Dept of Computer Science, Swiss Federal Institute
of Technology at Zurich (ETHZ)
e-mail: alonso@inf.ethz.ch
Name of project: INVENT: Infrastructure for Virtual Enterprises
Partners: Prof. Klaus Dittrich, Institut für Informatik, University of Zurich
Prof. Bernhard Plattner, Institut für Technische Informatik
und Kommunikationsnetze, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Zurich (ETHZ)
Prof. Hans-Jörg Schek, Dept of Computer Science, Swiss Federal Institute
of Technology at Zurich (ETHZ)
Prof. Dennis Tsichritzis, Centre Universitaire d'Informatique, University of
Geneva
Mr Christian Kobel, rue de Menthoux 57, Genève
Funding: Sfr 564,230.-
Summary: The goal of this joint research project of four applicant institutes and their business partners is to develop a coherent software platform suitable for use in small and medium sized business networks.
It is based on three concepts: virtual business processes, virtual enterprises and trading communities. Virtual in this context means that the processes and companies are not restricted to a single legal entity but extend to companies that are independent of one another. The communities form the framework for the electronic commerce and for handling the transaction among the participating companies.
Two parallel lines of research will be pursued, and two infrastructures for virtual companies established:
1. process-based: the parts of the process are coordinated by a superordinate process support system in much the same way that software programs are coordinated by an operating system.
2. agent-based: a mobile software agent with all information concerning the process is passed on from partner to partner while the process is in execution.
The aim of these two approaches is to obtain information about their individual advantages and disadvantages.
These research thrusts will be augmented by taking into account security and charging aspects on the one hand and activity-based cost accounting and management aspects on the other, in order to provide a complete solution for companies interested in pursuing electronic commerce as part of their daily activities.
The work packages are structured and further subdivided into separate research tasks, according to the four main project areas (the partners concerned are underlined):
1. Active Business Objects: development of a business information system on software agents technology and activity-based cost management concepts (CUI University of Geneva, and IFI University of Zurich)
2. Agent-based platform (CUI, University of Geneva, TIK ETHZ, DBS ETHZ)
3. Process-based infrastructure (IKS ETHZ, DBS ETHZ, IvyTeam)
4. Security and charging (TIK ETHZ, CUI University of Geneva, DBS ETHZ, IBM Research)
5. Scenarios for applications of the results under 1-4 (IFI University of Zurich, IKS ETHZ, DBS ETHZ, TIK ETHZ, CUI University of Geneva)
6. Evaluation, comparison, benchmarking (IKS ETHZ, DBS ETHZ, TIK ETHZ, IFI University of Zurich, CUI University of Geneva)
7. Project management and coordination (Prof. Alonso, IKS ETHZ)
The applicants were successfully involved in the SPP-ICS projects, especially phase 1 of the Electronic Commerce Competence Network. The project is devoted to extending and integrating prior activities, with the goal of establishing two comparative infrastructures.
Cooperation: Prof André Schiper, Laboratoire de Systèmes d'Exploitation, Swiss Federal
Institute of Technoloy at Lausanne (EPFL)
Mr Jens Krause, IBM Research Laboratory, Rüschlikon
Dr. Heinz Lienhard, IvyTeam, Zug.
Cooperation: Prof André Schiper, Laboratoire de Systèmes d`Exploitation, Swiss Federal
Institute of Technoloy at Lausanne (EPFL)
Mr Jens Krause, IBM Research Lavoratory, Rüschlikon
Dr. Heinz Lienhard, IvyTeam, Zug.