The Evolution Path to Collaborative Networks 4.0

The last two decades have witnessed considerable boost in emergence of a networked society, reflecting the increasing growth in hyper-connectivity among the organizations, people, smart machines, and intelligent systems. This trend was enabled by advances in ICT and more specifically in computer networking. In this context, new forms of coworking and collaboration in networks, composed of distributed, autonomous, and heterogeneous entities have emerged, which first led to the formation of Collaborative Networks (CN) as a new discipline, and then followed by series of milestones leading to its gradual evolution. Nowadays CNs play a key role in the ongoing process of digital transformation in industry and services. Although it is relatively young, a number of “generations” can be identified through the last decades for the CN discipline. We are now at the beginning of what can be identified as the Collaborative Networks 4.0, characterized by features such as: hybridization in CNs, collaboration between humans and intelligent autonomous systems, collaborative distributed cognitive systems, reflecting on collaborative accountability, handling ethics and coping with risks and disruptions faced in CNs, managing large amounts of collaborative data, monetization of collaboration, creating a collaboration culture, supporting collaboration creativity, handling mass collaboration, and supporting collaborative value creation through new business models, among others. The IFIP WG 5.5, through its annual conference the PRO-VE, which is now in its 21st edition, has played a determinant role, along these two decades. It has contributed to shaping, promoting, and extending the CN research and development community and its practices; thus, consolidating this area, and identifying and introducing new directions and preserving it as an active research agenda.