Chairman's Message
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Microsoft Interface JAN‒MAR 2006 INTERFACEA Microsoft Technology Journal ISSUE—I APRIL–JUNE 2006 CHAIRMAN’S C O N T E N T S MESSAGE Dear Friends, THEME: INTEROPERABILITY Today the eyes are set on India globally as it bears the coveted tag of the ‘Emerging Superpower of tomorrow’. India already enjoys a global reputation for its IT prowess. FOCUS ............................ 2 In order to set the right direction, it is the government’s charter to build a digitally Demystifying Interoperability inclusive society in partnership with the information technology players. This What is Interoperability? public private partnership will bring tremendous technological benefi ts to the Standards and their Relevance citizens of India including the underserved community. Open Source is not an Open However, the challenge is to select the right technology platforms and solutions Standard (or vice versa!) that ensure smooth delivery of citizen-centric services and operational effi ciency TECH TRENDS .................5 through right deployment of funds. Interoperability: What’s the Right As Microsoft is exposed to varied markets and issues across the globe, we Approach? would like to share our knowledge and experience with the Indian technology community. Keeping our users at the core of our business, we have conceived CASE STUDY ...................8 a knowledge exchange platform through the launch of our quarterly journal- Urban Community of Leziria Microsoft Interface. This journal will focus on the burning topics in the technology do Tejo leverages Microsoft domain which will / may affect your IT infrastructure in future. Our attempt is to interoperability solutions for demystify technology through user focused in-depth articles, industry trends and modernization of the region. user case studies. The theme of our inaugural issue is interoperability. As a result of ever-evolving INTERVIEW ...................... 9 IT infrastructure and increasing needs of IT users, Interoperability has been the J. Satyanarayana, Chief Executive Offi cer, NISG concern of CIO’s across the world. We have attempted to demystify the issue of Interoperability and have suggested strategies to address the challenges. FACTS AND FIGURES..... 10 We understand that the selection of technologies for pervasive government ● Indian Software Industry e- services will always depend on the applications. Therefore, user organizations ● Spending Trends in India in the government sector are required to deploy heterogeneous IT infrastructure, which is supposed to be interoperable while catering to the needs of a large number INFO BITS ......................11 of citizens. ● Agreements with the Government Microsoft is working closely with the governments to help them meet their of India interoperability objectives. Microsoft’s Government Interoperability Initiative ● IT Academy launched in (GII) is a program aimed to provide governments with resources to deliver digital Rajasthan access and develop a robust interoperable infrastructure. ● Affordable Multilingual computing solution for India We trust that you will fi nd the information in this journal useful for your organization. We will constantly strive to partner with you in the best possible way ● Innovations from India in addressing your IT needs. Ravi Venkatesan Chairman, Microsoft India 1 Microsoft Interface JAN‒MAR 2006 FOCUS Today Information Systems are seen critical for business productivity and growth for government and businesses. One of the keys to success in the IT era is the seamless exchange of information across heterogeneous IT infrastructure. As systems connect to each other the issue of interoperability assumes increasing signifi cance and is a ‘top of mind’ issue for technical and business leaders and policy makers. This article will try to demystify and clear some of the gray areas around this subject. n September 1999, NASA’s $125 operation, the other used metric units scenario of a business transferring million Mars Climate Orbiter leading to the spacecraft being 90 funds from an overseas bank crashed on the Red Planet during Kms lower than it should have been. account to their supplier in India. the penultimate phase of its The failure to reconcile errors in the Imagine that the transfer takes place mission. The cause: sending thruster transfer of information led to the loss without the appropriate conversion commands in Imperial units rather of the spacecraft . As it were, both sets between the foreign currency and than the metric commands the of numbers would have worked, but Indian Rupees. Or a landlord, Orbiter expected. While one control there was a “language” barrier between dealing with two different municipal team used English units (e.g., inches, the two teams and the spacecraft. departments, suddenly fi nding his feet and pounds) for a key spacecraft Now, imagine the hypothetical property tax rates shooting through 2 Microsoft Interface JAN‒MAR 2006 the roof because one department’s data. It spans infrastructure, such as focus instead on the far easier (and system recorded the extent of his network protocols, and system level more tangible!) issues of technical property in square meters whilst the interoperability, such as using Web interoperability. This ‘bottom-up’ other ‘sent’ the value in square feet! services. One of the means of achieving approach has serious consequences While these examples may be technical interoperability is by the for interoperability giving rise hypothetical they illustrate the use of standards or ‘standards-based’ to prescriptive guidelines and consequences of IT systems failing to protocols for example conforming ‘brittle’ systems that emphasise ‘communicate’ or ‘interoperate’ with to the TCP/IP stack protocols for technical requirements rather each other. network interoperability or using than architecture. Interoperability XML for transfer of data between becomes diffi cult to achieve or What is Interoperability? systems. breaks down for want of semantic While there could be many meanings Semantic interoperability, on and process consistency. The silos of interoperability depending the other hand, is about making sure tend to remain silos! upon various contexts, from an IT that the systems exchanging data Conversely, organisations that perspective it could be defi ned as: share the same meaning for the data choose to adopt a ‘top-down’ approach The ability of two or more systems or exchanged. Very frequently systems to interoperability concentrating components to exchange information can technically exchange data but on semantics and process defi nition and to use the information that has do not correctly interpret it in the avoid brittleness in their systems as been exchanged. 2 absence of a shared meaning for the this methodology, due to its focus on This is consistent with other data. data, its meaning and process, fosters defi nitions of interoperability such as In addition to technical and the development of architecture. This given in the US e-Government Act of semantic interoperability there are approach leads to the development 2002, amongst others, which defi nes also Organisational and Process of implementation guidelines driven it as the “ability of different operating Interoperability to be considered - by business requirements rather than and software systems, applications, the organising of business processes a set of strait jacketed rules. Also, and services to communicate and and organisational structures, these implementation guidelines exchange data in an accurate, effective, including process restructuring, are supple enough to keep pace and consistent manner.” 3 doing away with duplication, and with market evolution. Projects are In other words, interoperability the development of interoperability personifi ed by business value rather is “the ability of disparate IT ‘frameworks’ for better exchange than technical requirements; real products and services to exchange of data within and with other interoperability becomes feasible and and use data and information organisations. These also deal with silos disintegrate. (that is, to ‘talk’) in order to cultural issues, such as inter or function together in a networked intra departmental ownership of environment.” Put at its simplest, information, perceptions of loss Standards and their interoperability is about ensuring of control and power due to the Relevance systems work together. creation of shared assets. All of these As mentioned earlier, adherence to This implies at least two aspects impinge upon the achievement of standards is one way to facilitate need to be addressed by systems in interoperability. technical interoperability. However, order to be interoperable – the fi rst As systems and organisations simply adhering to standards does is the ability to exchange data, often become more complex, the relevance not guarantee interoperability as the called technical interoperability, and and importance of semantic and mere existence of a formal standard second to correctly interpret the data process interoperability increases does not automatically imply it will or semantic interoperability. sharply. Unfortunately, faced with achieve great market adoption or Technical interoperability deals the unwelcome challenge of defi ning usage. A case in point here is the with the linking up of computer semantics or processes most widespread adoption of the TCP/IP systems for transporting, exchanging, organisations avoid or postpone networking stack. This has become collecting, processing, and presenting dealing