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The Open Group's Boundaryless Information Flow^TM Reference Architecture Initiative

Boundaryless Information Flow & Enterprise Architecture
October 20-21
Washington DC

Call For Boundaryless Information Flow Architecture Papers

The Open Group is soliciting papers and presentations from vendors and other technology providers addressing "Architectures for Boundaryless Information Flow."  Papers are to describe architectural approaches addressing one or more of six models of Boundaryless Information Flow, which are described in the paper "Boundaryless Information Flow Reference Architecture: Six Example Boundaryless Business Models." (.doc 549kb) (.pdf 257kb). Preference will be given to papers describing approaches to achieving Boundaryless Information Flow that are based on available technology, or technologies that will be available in the near term.

All papers accepted will be published as part of the proceedings of The Open Group's Quarterly Members Conference in Washington, DC, October 20-21, 2003.  Authors of selected papers will be given the opportunity to present their papers at the meeting.  Some papers may be presented in workshops during the meeting, or in related meetings that take place during the same week. 

All submitted papers may be used in any medium in whole or in part (published in print or web as submitted, either individually, or in combination with other works), as source material by The Open Group in the creation and/or documentation of "Boundaryless Information Flow Reference Architectures," and by submitting a paper, the submitter agrees to such use without the need for any further permission.

To apply for participation please send an email request to boundaryless@opengroup.org indicating:

Presenter's name:

Company/organization details:

Company/organization contacts:

Which model or models you will address:

The architectural approach, architecture or subsystem architecture you will present:

Please note: We are seeking presentations that describe technical architectures and architectural approaches, and that are addressed to a moderately- to highly-technical audience.  The presentation should be an architectural presentation on a vendor or technology provider's given product or product-line that specifically addresses one or more of the given environments described in this paper.  Product pitches are not acceptable presentations, but vendors and technology providers should feel free to present their products as exemplars of the architectural approach described.  The presentation of the paper should be targeted for 20 minutes.

Scope

The Problem

Organizations that choose to move toward the Boundaryless Organization to improve their operational effectiveness are finding Information Technology resistant.  The Open Group is seeking to help organizations address that resistance, thereby achieving Boundaryless Information Flow in support of their movement toward the Boundaryless Organization.

Boundaryless Information Flow represents the vision that The Open Group is pursuing. This document takes a step toward that pursuit by providing a framework to elicit, evaluate, and position necessary architectural contributions for Boundaryless Information Flow.

The Open Group's Boundaryless Information Flow Reference Architecture

The Open Group's vision is “Boundaryless Information Flow achieved through global interoperability in a secure, reliable and timely manner.” Achieving this vision is not an easy task; the road ahead isn’t necessarily clearly marked. To help the membership of The Open Group engage in efforts to achieve this vision, The Open Group is working to create a set of "Boundaryless Information Flow Reference Architectures." This framework of reference architectures will guide the creation of specific architectures, solutions, and systems for use by companies whose key IT objective is the reduction of the friction of internal and/or external boundaries.  It will include descriptions of business strategies, scenarios and profiles to help an organization identify the significance of Boundaryless Information Flow architectures to its business strategy and goals.  Each of the Reference Architectures will identify specific architectural techniques and patterns, particularly relevant or applicable technologies, and, especially, standards and norms that ensure interoperability, portability, and broad utility of solutions to the challenge of boundarylessness. 

Within the paper called "Boundaryless Information Flow Reference Architecture: Six Example Boundaryless Business Models" (.doc 549kb) (.pdf 257kb) we describe six specific business models of Boundaryless Information Flow.  We also describe the types of subsystem architectures (Common System Architectures) that appear to be particularly significant to these scenarios.  That is, the identified subsystem architectures seem to be the ones that would differentiate or define the business model, and that would require the greatest attention when creating a solution in the context of the model.  

Time Line 

Submission Reviewer Team

All Submissions will be reviewed by a team of reviewers. The team of reviewers will minimally include:

• Terence Blevins, VP and CIO of The Open Group
• Eliot Solomon, Principal of Eliot M. Solomon Consulting, Inc.

Additional review team members may be added as necessary.

Submission requirements

Papers must address one or more of six models of Boundaryless Information Flow, which are described in the accompanying paper.  The approaches presented should be based on available technology, or technologies that will be available in the near term, and should demonstrate how those technologies will relate to future development and evolution of IT architecture. 

Papers that address more than one of the six models should treat each model addressed as a separate case.  Presentations may describe architectures, architectural elements, standards, or architectural methodologies that are specifically applicable to the model being addressed.  When the thing being described is dependent on architectures not specific to the model being addressed (for example, when an element is dependent on a larger architectural framework such as OGSA or "web services," or on a subsystem architecture, such as a specific security, directory, or messaging architecture) that dependency and its (positive and negative) consequences should be clearly described. 

Ideally, accepted papers will: describe an architectural approach; discuss the relation of that approach to larger architectural issues; indicate what other architectural or design elements beside those presented in the paper would be required to achieve a satisfactory solution; and provide examples of products that could be employed in a manner consistent with the presented approach.  Attention should be given to issues of interoperability, portability (of the presented approach and of applications that may rely on it), standards, and the available means to demonstrate or assure conformance to standards and best industry practices. 

Papers that are less comprehensive that address only current technology, or that are theoretical in nature will be considered for inclusion in the published proceedings of the conference.  Papers targeted to specific aspects of Boundaryless Information Flow but not addressing any of the six models may be accepted for use in workshops.  Descriptions of specific technologies, especially standards, will similarly be considered for presentation in workshops or technology forums at the Members' Meeting. 

All submitted papers may be used in any medium in whole or in part (published in print or web as submitted, either individually, or in combination with other works), as source material by The Open Group in the creation and/or documentation of "Boundaryless Information Flow Reference Architectures," and by submitting a paper, the submitter agrees to such use without the need for any further permission.

The Washington Conference

Papers will be presented at The Open Group’s next quarterly Members’ Meeting and Conference, which will be held October 20 – 24 at the Sheraton Premiere at Tysons Corner, 8661 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, Virginia.  Workshops on the subject matter will be held both in the open conference and in the technology forum meetings of the Members’ Meeting. 

Because this event combines an open conference with The Open Group’s quarterly member meeting we expect to bring together a large group of both customers and vendors, from around the world, who are working on the issues of Boundaryless Information Flow, both within The Open Group and inside their own enterprises. 

The conference is designed to help today's organizations breakdown the stovepipes in their IT systems to enable integrated information to be accessed in a secure reliable and timely manner. In recognizing that no organization can afford to replace its legacy infrastructure, enterprise architecture has moved to center stage to address this challenge.

Attendees will share requirements and experiences of user organizations, understand the approaches being taken by suppliers, learn about the evolving industry standards and best practices, and network with leading practitioners and thought leaders. 

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