Interworking

The interworking is the capacity which a product or a system has whose Interface S are completely known to function with other products or systems existing or future.

It is advisable to distinguish “ interworking and” compatibilité' . To be simple, one can say that there is compatibility when two products or systems can function together and interworking when it is known why and how they can function together. In other words, one can speak about interworking of a product or a system only if one knows completely of it all his Interface S.

Interworking is regarded as very important even critical in many fields, of which the Informatique, the medical in the broad sense, the railway activities, the electrotechnical , the Aérospatiale, the field Militaire and the Industrie in general. The various systems, apparatuses and various elements used must be able to interact without clashes.

Taking into account the fact that these elements are produced by various Constructeur S, with varied methods, and that they answer specific Besoin S, the simplest idea consists in defining an explicit base, a Norme or a whole of standards, that each element “will establish” in its own operation.

This Norme plays a double part: it is initially an indicator in the way in which the dialog between the various elements must take place - and thus crystallizes the Besoin S for this dialog; it is then a footbridge of Communication, which will possibly be able to adapt to the Besoin S changing for the elements. The standard is then the base of design of the Interface S.

An example of systems interopérables is the telephone. All the interfaces are standards managed by UIT-T. One can thus telephone without worrying about the mark of telephone of his correspondent nor of the materials used by the various operators.

The Anglo-Saxon world sees interworking under the angle of the Informatique and the Télécommunications, and like a means of power and domination of the Marché. The industrial interworking is treated by the Anglo-Saxons via the Ingénierie of the systems, which is a university discipline.

Elements of definition

General sight of interworking

To define more exactly than is and is not interworking, one can start by distinguishing it from the Compatibilité. This last relation is binary and relates to a finished whole of systems. With and B are compatible , or not, if their respective constructions allow them, or not, to communicate and work together.

With and B will be known as interopérables if, thanks to one or more standard (S) external (S) which they respect, they amongst other things come from there to be able to be compatible. Interworking is general and a priori does not relate to particular elements or systems. It exists through standards and formats respected by any element or system which wishes to integrate a plexus interopérable - the network of the elements which communicate between them in a fluid and normalized way. It is seen that interworking does not owe anything randomly, and results from an explicit agreement between the various manufacturers of elements.

Interworking and Uniformité are often comparison. A current criticism is to say that the race with interworking involves with it an impoverishment of the development of the techniques, by slowing down the innovations - which are generally the fact of a isolated actor. It is not indeed false to say that interworking brings to a form of unicity: the process by which several systems become interopérables indeed bases on the unicity of a standard to respect but not on the unicity of the products which respect this standard, quite to the contrary! The standard supports the appearance of competing products. It is completely false to say that interworking imposes a single model of development of the systems: to respect a standard does not mean not to have the right to respect others or to create of them a broader network of systems intéropérables. This decision concerns the manufacturer or the service provider. That does not mean either to close the door with the innovations: simple additions can join an existing standard, and the innovations moreover large scales can cause the installation of a new standard, which can stimulate the adoption of the innovation and its applications.

This problem of unicity relates to certain fields and not others and presents in fact especially compatibility issues, between the standards this time. The most current but imperfect solution consists in using standards resting on open formats, and by there quickly evolutionary. The field of data processing illustrates this point more particularly.

Interworking is not by itself a concrete element or a definite criterion. One can determine systems up to what point are interopérables while jugant of their respect of the standard which gave place to an interworking. It is included/understood whereas one can speak about partial interworking: if a software, for example, respects only part of a standard, it will not be able to perhaps dialog correctly with another program, even at all. In the absolute, only the strict respect of a given standard leads to a real interworking, but this situation is rather far away from reality.

Crucial issues

Interworking has obviously broad technical implications, but not only. It can affect the organization of a company or an organization, and raises crucial questions. Those milked for example with the Donnée S and their exchange:

people (originators of systems or end users) wish to share their data?
If necessary, up to what point and how?
How to organize a standard so that interworking concerned is at the same time most easily accessible and most viable possible?
How to make so that it is adapted to complex and sometimes contradictory needs?

The Standardization constitutes a brief reply for some of these questions.

Economically, interworking has consequences ignored of the general public and sometimes underestimated by the industrial actors. If the products of several competitor S are not interopérables (because of Brevet S exclusive, trade secrets or for any other voluntary reason or not), one can lead to a monopolistic situation or to a fragmented market.

See will infra .

Such an economic configuration is done with the detriment of the consumer. Data processing, in particular, presents the various cases: the position of Microsoft compared to its competitors on the market of the operating systems illustrates the first well. The governments can try to encourage the manufacturers to engage a step of concerted interworking, but that concretely encounters commercial interests already in place. Such steps can also lead to agreements half-open, half-closed, i.e. excluding an economic whole of actors to the profit from an small group.

See will infra .

Lastly, interworking can return to the problems of the Liberté (freedom of use, freedom of choice…), as shows it.

Interworking in data processing

Interworking is an absolutely crucial concept for the Telecommunication networks Mondiaux like the Téléphone and Internet. Essentially, of the various and varied materials are implemented in these heterogeneous networks at the sides of a panoply even vaster of Computer materials and Logiciel S.

But it is crucial also and especially for the whole of the economy, because today, in almost all the spheres of activity, in the Industrie and the services, and even in Agriculture, of the Computing systems manage Donnée S, control Control systems, systems of Gestion, and are inter-connected of a Entreprise with the other by data-processing networks (Internet, Extranet, emails,…).

One can to some extent affirm that, from the point of view of the Ingénierie of the systems, the data-processing Interopérabilité pilot total interworking.

Interworking of the physical networks

Railway Interopérabilté

Road interworking

To a certain extent, one can consider that the Highway code, the Gabarit S of the Pont S and of the Route S correspond to a certain form of interworking, as well as the pneumatic Standardization of the S, of the road dynamic equipment and systems of electronic Paiement on the Autoroute S.

Electric interworking

The pile S and rechargeable batteries had to be Standardisée S.

The electricity distributed on the network X 230 volts, must remain in certain a beach of tension (220 to 240 V) and of frequency (50 Hz), so that the equipment S can be indifféremments connected on various points of the network, in different State S.

Interworking like instrument of power and domination of the market

To limit interworking

Interworking tends to being conceived like a subject of experts, and its implications in the everyday life are sometimes underestimated.

The case of Microsoft compared to the European commission is revealing way in which interworking relates to important matters on the relations of power. In 2004, the European commission found that Microsoft had misused its dominant position by deliberately restricting interworking between the Micro-ordinateur S Windows and the waiters of not-Microsoft work groups. While thus acting, Microsoft was able to acquire a dominant position on the market for the Operating systems of waiters of work groups, the heart of its networks groups TIC. One asked at Microsoft to publish documentation of Interface specifies, which was to make it possible rival salesmen to enter in competition on an equal footing (“the remedy of interworking”). In June 2005 the Commission tests on the market a new proposal of Microsoft in this direction, as it had disallowed preceding proposals as being insufficient.

The recent efforts of Microsoft around interworking could indicate a change in their approach and their level of engagement towards interworking. These efforts include the migration of the Formats of files Microsoft Office towards ECMA Open Office XML, and several agreements with partners, more particularly their recent collaboration agreement with Novell. However, of many people criticize the format Open XML which allows the inclusion of binary objects, inclusion incompatible with the concept of interworking. Microsoft uses the word interworking in the direction of compatibility with its own products.

Interworking also emerged in the Débat on the software patent with the the European Parliament (June/July 2005). Critics claim that because the patents on the techniques required by interworking are kept under conditions RAND (reasonable and not discriminatory licensing), the customers will have to pay licenses twice: once for the product and, if necessary, once for the program protected by the patent which the product uses.

To encourage interworking

The preceding strategy is well-known and traditional. It generally concerns an actor in position of quasi-monopoly. It is thanks to a partial interworking that companies can acquire a world hegemonic position. Interworking implies the exhaustive knowledge of the Interface S.

The generalization of the Enjeu X of Sustainable development creates conditions structural of market which support those which conceive these Enjeu X like an opportunity, and not like a constraint (see SWOT).

As the European Union started to organize large a Single European market with the Euro area, the the United States sought in the same way, as of the end of the Années 1980 and the fall of the Berlin Wall, to put in coherence all their economy by encouraging interworking: in general misant on a low Durability, leaving side (for the moment) the Protocol of Kyoto, it seeks to transform the Capital Stock of knowledge naturalness into . Paul Romer is one of the principal American theorists of the Economic growth, which he sees drawn by the technological Innovation, and to relate to all the aspects of the company (change of Paradigme).

In this strategy, the companies of the sectors of the Aeronautical , Arme lies, and of the Informatique intervening in the first war of the Gulf gathered in a vast world consortium (NCW), become in its civil version (energy, Télécommunication S, Automobile…) Network Centric Operations (operations networks centered in French, to see Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium), being based on world Standard S in data processing (W3C, OASIS), and on the rules of the International business through the international Chamber of commerce, the BASD, WBCSD, OECD…. This strategy is implemented within the framework of an offensive policy of advocacy (support for the companies) which comprises an important shutter of standardization in the legal Système Anglo-Saxon of Soft law.

From the point of view of the Influence, the the United States play on all the Vulnérabilité S, or devices which theirs are favorable, such as for example the European commission, on the plan of its force of proposal and sound operation.

Concretely, to implement these complex structures of piloting, it is necessary to have an infrastructure of interworking making it possible to make sometimes more than communicate between them a whole of communities including/understanding 100.000 employees, pertaining at different organizations: companies (multinational, PME/PMI innovating), Centers of study and research, University S, called clusters with the the United States. The European equivalent is called Pole of competitiveness.

In fact, to carry out the corresponding infrastructures of interworking, the traditional methods of Computer security (Infrastructure with public keys) are insufficient: one must rest on Métadonnée S (Donnée S of the data of the Computer's resources employed by the organizations) which are gathered in whole of elements in Registres of metadata often specialized by spheres of activity. The Dublin Core gives a general groundwork.

Standardization

The Standard S

Major organizations publishing of the standards

There exist various organizations whose role is to validate Norme S that industries, in particular, will use as support to return their services and produced S interopérables, and a fortiori , compatible.

ISO: International organization of standardization
ANSI: American National Standards Institute
AFNOR: French Association of standardization
CEN: European Committee for Standardization
ITU: International union of telecommunications
CENELEC: European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization

For the Information systems:

For Internet

IETF: Internet Engineering Task Force
ISOC: Internet Society
W3C: World Wide Web Consortium
OASIS: Organization for the Advancement off Structured Information Standards

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