Internet of Services
Encyclopedia
or
Internet of Services is
extending today’s Internet
to become service-enabled. The Internet of Services is not an overhaul
of the Internet but, for the most part, an application of it, where classical barriers and inefficiencies are removed from service access.
in the world. For the first time ever, it now employs most people worldwide. In order for this growth to continue, services should become more widely and easily available and should also yield higher productivity
. The clever use of information technology
can significantly help to achieve these goals. Various companies and research institute
s have started to explore different aspects of the service sector to determine which services can be managed through IT and, being combined, lend themselves into value-added services. This new and elaborate vision for next-generation services provided via the Internet is known as the Internet of Services.
, limiting further service growth to narrow governance and proprietary platforms.
long-running and implemented through legacy applications hosted by providers. Access to these
services requires interactions with backend applications, and several agencies and therefore
applications may be involved. Navigation of such services therefore needs to be as seamless for
consumers as linking to pages, facilitated by semantic descriptions of services and their interactions.
At the same time, business process
es, not just individuals, are expected to be consumers of “cloud”
services. When harnessed through business processes, services such as environment sensors and
decision-support (data mashups) streamline otherwise “out-of-band” operations like exception handling
. They draw businesses processes out of internal stovepipes and rigid B2B interactions, into
“real-world” awareness and agility. Ultimately they are rendering tomorrow’s dynamic collaboration
and future value networks, as anticipated by service industries and the research community.
• Service Aggregator: composing services into value added services
• Service Broker: Brokering and billing of value-added services
• Service Channel: Delivery of value-added services using customer specific channels
unifying approach for the description of generic (business) services that captures and aligns business, operational and technical characteristics.
SDF (Service Delivery Framework)
A Framework , which makes services tradable on the internet, composable into value-added services, and allows the integration of customized services into the environment of service consumers.
Internet of Services is
extending today’s Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
to become service-enabled. The Internet of Services is not an overhaul
Overhaul
Overhaul may refer to:*Overhaul , a Transformers character*The process of overhauling...
of the Internet but, for the most part, an application of it, where classical barriers and inefficiencies are removed from service access.
Situation
Over the last decade, the service sector has become the biggest and fastest-growing business sectorBusiness sector
In economics, the business sector is a subset of the domestic economy excluding the economic activities of general government, private households, and nonprofit organizations serving individuals. In the United States the business sector accounted for about 78 percent of the value of gross domestic...
in the world. For the first time ever, it now employs most people worldwide. In order for this growth to continue, services should become more widely and easily available and should also yield higher productivity
Productivity
Productivity is a measure of the efficiency of production. Productivity is a ratio of what is produced to what is required to produce it. Usually this ratio is in the form of an average, expressing the total output divided by the total input...
. The clever use of information technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
can significantly help to achieve these goals. Various companies and research institute
Research institute
A research institute is an establishment endowed for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research...
s have started to explore different aspects of the service sector to determine which services can be managed through IT and, being combined, lend themselves into value-added services. This new and elaborate vision for next-generation services provided via the Internet is known as the Internet of Services.
Challenges
As open service partnerships and service ecosystems have quickly grown, their limitations are clear. The mechanisms for consolidating service delivery are one-off and cannot be reused without large overheads. They result in oligarchiesOligarchy
Oligarchy is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with an elite class distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, commercial, and/or military legitimacy...
, limiting further service growth to narrow governance and proprietary platforms.
Approach and its Benefits
Through the Internet of Services, it is envisaged that these barriers will be removed giving way to a level “playing field” for service supply and access. Beyond ordering books, querying maps, booking flights and the like, commoditized business transactions from mainstream industries are set to take off as the next wave of consumable services. Examples such as property conveyance, business formation and life events (e.g. births and marriage) entail complex integration challenges. They arelong-running and implemented through legacy applications hosted by providers. Access to these
services requires interactions with backend applications, and several agencies and therefore
applications may be involved. Navigation of such services therefore needs to be as seamless for
consumers as linking to pages, facilitated by semantic descriptions of services and their interactions.
At the same time, business process
Business process
A business process or business method is a collection of related, structured activities or tasks that produce a specific service or product for a particular customer or customers...
es, not just individuals, are expected to be consumers of “cloud”
services. When harnessed through business processes, services such as environment sensors and
decision-support (data mashups) streamline otherwise “out-of-band” operations like exception handling
Exception handling
Exception handling is a programming language construct or computer hardware mechanism designed to handle the occurrence of exceptions, special conditions that change the normal flow of program execution....
. They draw businesses processes out of internal stovepipes and rigid B2B interactions, into
“real-world” awareness and agility. Ultimately they are rendering tomorrow’s dynamic collaboration
and future value networks, as anticipated by service industries and the research community.
Roles in Global Service Delivery
• Service Gateway: making services available• Service Aggregator: composing services into value added services
• Service Broker: Brokering and billing of value-added services
• Service Channel: Delivery of value-added services using customer specific channels
IoS Technologies
USDL (Unified Service Description Language)unifying approach for the description of generic (business) services that captures and aligns business, operational and technical characteristics.
SDF (Service Delivery Framework)
A Framework , which makes services tradable on the internet, composable into value-added services, and allows the integration of customized services into the environment of service consumers.