The Case For Interoperability

Mark Skilton
Oct 3, 2011
2 min read

Financial Case (internal) for Interoperability

The core issue around interoperability

Cost of Integration
You ask for 2, get 1, missing 1, pay for 4..
Market Effectiveness
Legislation, legality,
Access, channels
New delivery models
Catalogs
Lifecycles

Market Case (external) for Interoperability

Consumer choice
Vendor market / product / services
Trading price / Value / Quality / Choice

Interoperability Enablers

APIs
Services IOP
Data Portability
Security

Operating Enablers

Security
Quality
Persistence e2e
Performance e2e
Repeatability e2e

Interoperability Assurance

An aspect of most all systems is the level of homogeneity versus heterogeneity. To what extend does the system run contiguously from one part or component of the system to another is very much a function of how that system components are constructed and how it worked within its own system domain of control and any other systems or subsystems and domains that it may interact with directly or indirectly. These aspects are reflected in the topic of interoperability:

Symmetry
This is the degree of how symmetric or asymmetric a system is in the various dimensions of the system that represents its boundary of operation. The symmetry in this context can be the way the topology of a system components are either loosely or tightly coupled together and to what degree of uniformity they exhibit across the system as measured by their specification or standards compliance.

Contiguity
The measure of how specific operations are made by and across the system. The level of contiguity is how well the system and its components may be easily associated with each other to perform part or all of the system operation.
The definitions of Contiguity in Wikipedia is - A contiguity is a continuous mass, or a series of things in contact or proximity. In a different meaning, contiguity is the state of being contiguous.[1] The concept was first set out in the Law of Contiguity, one of Aristotle's Laws of Association, which states that things which occur in proximity to each other in time or space are readily associated.

N space Assurance
This is the level of connectivity between each system and its component and with other systems and components. This effect is most readily seen when swapping out and replacing in a new component which is required to be equivalent or the same component or system replacement. The effect is also seen in composite systems that are made up of subsystems and many components which are brought together to create a whole system. The degree of assurance that N number of components and /or systems can connect and work together as a whole in a specific location and arrangement.
Component composition
Supplier composition