Find the most recent information on EU Funding activities in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) by visiting our ICT in FP7 website, which covers ICT in the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) 2007 - 2013.
Introduction
In the emerging globalised economy, Europe's businesses - and especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - have to move more quickly and flexibly than ever before. They need innovative ICT-based systems and tools to assist them in honing their business strategy, sharpening their operations and processes, and deploying technology more effectively.Trends towards globalisation, outsourcing and customisation require firms to be more agile, inventive, and responsive to market changes.
In manufacturing, the pursuit of competitive advantage is leading firms to design in added-value services as part of the customer offering.This "extended product" approach combines a product with services and enhancements that improve marketability. Developments in location and tracking technologies - such as radio frequency identification (RFID) - as well as sensor networks are leading to a rapid proliferation of smart products, processes and working environments.
To succeed in this competitive environment firms are recognising the benefits of collaboration, not only with their immediate customers and suppliers but also with others in the value chain. ICT systems play a crucial role in organisations' ability to adapt to ever-changing competitive conditions and quickly exchange information, both internally and with external collaborators. The interoperability of enterprise applications is an especially important issue for the new collaborative business networks.
Digital business ecosystems is another interesting development, offering the possibility to create an environment within which businesses, and more particularly micro enterprises, will operate using application software or application services with the ability to self-organise, self-optimise and evolve.
This brochure describes IST research on ICT for Enterprise Networking, showing the integrated nature of European research in this domain. It presents profiles of specific research areas holding a promising future, together with selected project descriptions to exemplify and illustrate key ongoing research and technology development.
Extended products and services and collaborative business networks are key elements of research in this domain. Enterprise Interoperability is alo a major interest, aiming to enable true interoperability for (cross-)enterprise applications and software. The research roadmap published in July 2006 is a clear illustration of the importance of the challenges ahead and of the strong committment of all sector actors to address them.The work also emphasizes business ecosystems as collaborative and evolutionary environments for future businesses.
The brochure is one of six in The Networked Future series, describing European funded research for Network and Communication Technologies.
| View of download the complete brochure (PDF, 913KB) |
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| Read or download the General brochure (PDF, 1.644KB) |
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This book is one of a series of six which correspond to the six strategic objectives:
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| Paper copies | A limited number of printed copies are available (the pack includes the introduction and all six specific booklets). If you wish to receive copies please send us an email mentioning the key word INFSO.D Brochure, the number of copies and the address. |