Software & Service Architectures and Infrastructures

Objectives 1.2.: Internet of Services, Software and Virtualisation

Target outcomes

a) Service Architectures and Platforms for the Future Internet

• Service Front Ends enabling communities of networked users easily to compose, configure, share and use services and providing device and context aware service adaptations. They facilitate the development of, search for and interaction with services, cover the service life cycle and take account of social network users having different levels of expertise.
• Open, scalable, dependable service platforms, architectures, and specific platform components, enabling automatic service description, discovery, composition, and negotiation with a multiplicity of reusable services, which may be mobile, multi-device, multi-modal, multi-context or nomadic. Evolution and interoperability of service platforms are also needed, and scale and complexity in dynamic, distributed heterogeneous environments, including open service networks, should be addressed. System management functionalities such as Service Level Agreement (SLA) management, Quality of Service (QoS), access rights and customer charging have to be supported, as should semantic interoperability and access to service repositories. Full account should be taken of the convergence of IT/telecom/content systems and opportunities for breaking down the barriers between the web telecommunication and hybrid services.
• Virtualised infrastructures extending the capabilities of distributed computing, storage and communication infrastructures to manage a multiplicity of underlying hardware and software resources and seamlessly integrate them within the composite service orientation paradigm enabling operations across heterogeneous technological and business domains. These virtualised infrastructures allow the flexible, dynamic, dependable and scalable provision of advanced services to support the various resource requests/needs of service platforms, including software as a service, resource as a service and other approaches.

b) Highly Innovative Service / Software Engineering

• Service / Software engineering methods and tools covering automatic support at run-time for decisions and changes that are currently adopted at design time. Focus is on innovative approaches to very large, dynamic open service networks, user development of services/software, systems evolvability and acquisition, reasoning and incorporation of domain knowledge in all phases of the service/software life cycle. High-level description and executable languages for services/software with support for adaptation and technologies for improving system response time, performance and throughput are in the scope of the research.
• Verification and validation methods, tools and techniques assuring the quality of open, large-scale, dynamic service systems without fixed system boundaries, addressing the complete service and software life cycle.
• Methods, tools and approaches specifically supporting the development, deployment and evolution of open source software. Investigation into the use of open source approaches for improving service engineering, deployment, management, evolution and take-up.

c) Coordination and support actions

• Support for standardisation and collaboration. Identification and support of actions relating to the need for interoperability. Support to cross-sector coordination on convergence of IT, telecom and media; specific actions to build concepts and critical mass for services in the Future Internet.
• Maximisation of impact of projects in this area, including SME-oriented technology transfer actions such as dissemination and training.
• Application of open source models of development and innovation through rapid cycles of reuse and improvement to service engineering.

Expected impact

• A major contribution to the Future Internet in terms of service development, management and interoperability in an environment of converged IT, telecom and media platforms.
• Deep technological advances in software/service engineering. New software technologies for improving scalability and predictability of distributed systems, improving responsiveness and throughput. A more competitive environment including infrastructure operators moved up the value chain with innovative service offerings on scalable infrastructure.
• Lowered barriers for service providers, in particular SMEs, to develop services through standardised open (source) platforms and interfaces.
• Massive uptake of high-added value services through innovative service front ends and a higher user empowerment and more advanced and dynamic online communities through platforms enabling "third party generated services".
• A strengthened industry in Europe for software, software services and Web services, offering a greater number of more reliable and affordable services, enabled by flexible and resilient platforms for software/service engineering, design, development, management and interoperability. Technologies tailored to meet key societal and economical needs.

Funding schemes

a), b): IP, STREP; c): CSA

Indicative budget distribution

• IP/STREP: EUR 107 million of which a minimum of 50% to IPs and a minimum of 30% to STREPs
• CSA: EUR 3 million

Call

ICT call 5