Interoperability - Week 3 Group B

               When I logged on to blog this week and saw that my group was assigned the topic “Interoperability,” my initial reaction was, “What the heck is interoperability?” I rushed to the internet in order to solve this mystery, and came up with the definition below:

Interoperability is the ability of making systems and organizations to work together (inter-operate).  – Wikipedia

               So, in a sense, interoperability can be thought of in the context of many different scenarios and combinations of systems, and can be applied to a variety of fields. When searching for a source for this week’s blog post, I wanted to find one that encompassed a good synopsis of the practice of interoperability. For this reason, I selected a white paper by Bentley entitled, “Interoperability Platform.” The white paper focuses on the necessity of sustaining both society’s infrastructure and environment simultaneously. Through this notion, the concept of interoperability can become manifest through the coordination of the systems that make infrastructure efficient and effective along with the systems that make the same infrastructure environmentally friendly. It would be impossible to engineer this combination without the organization and cooperation of the corresponding systems.

                In this white paper specifically, Bentley explains the functionality of its interoperability platform. Specifically, it focused on several key traits, including the need to embrace existing applications and systems by creating an interface to combine the old with the new. It facilitates the necessity to synchronize project information, and then subsequently generates a collaborative analysis of those systems. Through these analyses, it then becomes possible to create deliverables that display the coordination between the systems and how the product of the collaboration can be utilized. Through all of these characteristics, it becomes possible to obtain greater value and information from a more detailed analysis of the interoperability of the existing systems.

                I found it very interesting to read a bit about how there are specific application platforms dedicated to facilitating and aiding a team of people in keeping the coordination between systems organized. I always knew it was important to coordinate systems, but I guess I never realized the importance of keeping that collaboration organized.  

Cleveland, A.B.. "Interoperability Platform." Bentley.com. Bentley, n.d. Web. 21 Jan 2014. <ftp://ftp2.bentley.com/dist/collateral/Web/Platform/WP_Interop_Platform.pdf>.