Interoperability Standards for Seamless Communication: An Analysis of Domain-Specific Initiatives

Achieving seamless interoperability among heterogeneous communication systems and technologies is critical in todays' networked business world, ranging from joint collaborative military operations that need to exchange critical information in real-time, to complex e-business scenarios of organizations from different industry sectors using heterogeneous technologies and communication infrastructures to execute complex inter-organizational business processes. The aim of this article is to present a review of current domain-specific standardization initiatives towards seamless communication, discussing challenges and highlighting directions for further research and development work. This article has two main contributions. First, it provides an up-to-date review of the most relevant domain-specific standardization initiatives aiming at achieving seamless interoperability among communication systems. Second, by comparing these initiatives, a set of recommendations is advanced towards improving further interoperability developments, offering a unique niche for researchers, practitioners and developers to make significant contributions.