Infusing scientific foundations into Enterprise Interoperability

In a turbulent world where technological evolution has surpassed even the most imaginative scenarios predicted a few years ago, interoperability remains an intangible and elusive challenge. Associated with cost, risk and complexity reduction, Enterprise Interoperability can be defined as a capability of two or more enterprises, including all the systems within their boundaries and the external systems that they utilize or are affected by, to cooperate seamlessly, over a sustained period of time to pursue a common objective. During the last decade, substantial advancements at an application level have been made through EU- and national funded research. However, the lack of scientific foundations seems to hinder unlocking its full potential. In this context, the aim of this paper is to investigate the pathway towards establishing a science base and to provide an overview of the main milestones in the fascinating quest that shall eventually shape interoperability as a scientific discipline.