Semantic Web for Business: Cases and Applications

Marietjie Schutte

Online Information Review

ISSN: 1468-4527

Article publication date: 27 November 2009

146

Keywords

Citation

Schutte, M. (2009), "Semantic Web for Business: Cases and Applications", Online Information Review, Vol. 33 No. 6, pp. 1205-1205. https://doi.org/10.1108/14684520911011124

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited


In this volume an assortment of European researchers and practitioners demonstrate the business value and benefits of using semantic technologies on large‐scale projects. The majority of these projects are concerned with e‐business and e‐commerce applications complicated by the need to support multilingual, multinational and multidisciplinary contexts.

What makes this volume unique is that it not only focuses on methodological and technological challenges, but also on the business needs. Most authors followed a set structure to organise each chapter's content. The structure is as follows:

  • Current situation. All chapters begin with a description of what the situation was like before semantic web (SW) methodologies and technologies were implemented. This section also includes a problem statement outlining the issues, as well as a discussion of why SW methodologies and technologies are suitable.

  • Solution description and details. In this section the authors give an overview of the proposed solution, including the objectives, details and technicalities (such as the approach, architecture, components and implementation) of the proposed solution.

  • Alternatives. Authors then describe certain alternative solutions that could also be considered as potential solutions.

  • Cost and benefits. It is also important to consider the costs and benefits of the proposed solution. In this section the authors outline the implications of, for instance, the development costs and additional infrastructure requirements in relation to the current situation. This section also communicates the potential benefits such as operational savings and improved customer satisfaction.

  • Risk assessment. When considering and, ultimately, implementing a solution, decision makers should carefully consider risks associated with implementing the solution, as well as the risks of not implementing the solution. In this section, authors examine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the proposed solutions.

  • Future trends and conclusions. All chapters conclude with a discussion on the future of the Semantic Web from the business case point of view.

The editor has managed to assemble an interesting assortment of business case topics. The first describes a European research project that aimed to integrate information sets from vehicle manufacturers, repair organisations and diagnostic tool manufacturers in a service portal by means of mapping the disparate terminologies in a shared vocabulary. Other business cases address a wide variety of scenarios.

This volume should prove valuable for anyone interested in the application of SW methodologies and technologies in real‐life scenarios. IT practitioners, researchers, students and business managers should profit from reviewing the business case reports.

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