A New Design for Open and Scalable Collaboration of Independent Databases in Digitally Connected Enterprises

" Digitally connected enterprises " refers to e-business, global supply chains, and other new business designs of Knowledge Economy; all of which require open and scalable information supply chains across independent enterprises. Connecting proprietarily designed and controlled enterprise databases in these information supply chains is a critical success factor for them. Previous connection designs tend to rely on " hard-coded " regimes, which do not respond well to disruptions (including changes and failures), and do not afford these enterprises sufficient flexibility to join simultaneously in multiple supply chain regimes and share information for the benefits of all. The paper develops a new design: It combines matchmaking with global database query, and thereby supports independent databases to interoperate and form on-demand information supply chains. The design provides flexible (re-)configuration to decrease the impact of disruption, and proactive control to increase collaboration and information sharing. More broadly, the new results contribute to a new Information System design method for massively extended enterprises, and facilitate new business designs using digital connections at the level of databases. Examples of digitally connected enterprises encompass social networking, global supply chains, and the latest e-business designs (e.g., convergence of social network with business, globally integrated enterprises [Palmisano 2006], and new services [Cambridge Papers 2008]). The phrase, as discussed in [Hsu and Spohrer 2008], intends to project a sense of massively extended enterprise that potentially scales along both demand chains and supply chains. But more fundamentally, it captures the intellectual essence that these enterprises extend by virtue of (i.e., enabled by) digitizing and connecting their Information System (IS) elements: users and user interfaces; processes and applications; data and knowledge resources; computing and communication; and networking and infrastructure. Each particular connection (configuration) of these IS elements gives rise to particular (feasible) information supply chains in the digitally connected (extended) enterprises. The core of such information supply chains is the enterprise databases that support them. Because enterprise databases are proprietarily designed and controlled-i.e., they are independent of the supply chains, their connection inherently favors open and scalable designs that afford them maximum flexibility with minimum disruption for collaboration. In this context, the paper develops a new design method: open and scalable connection of independent databases across (massively extended) digitally connected enterprises for collaboration. Its specific objectives include mitigating disruptions and facilitating information sharing in information supply chains and other collaboration relations. The research problem is how to make the connection …