Emerging Web services standards enable the development of large-scale applications in open environments. In particular, they enable services to be dynamically bound. However, current techniques fail to address the critical problem of selecting the right service instances. Service selection should be determined based on user preferences and business policies, and consider the trustworthiness of service instances.We propose a multiagent approach that naturally provides a solution to the selection problem. This approach is based on an architecture and programming model in which agents represent applications and services. The agents support considerations of semantics and quality of service (QoS). They interact and share information, in essence creating an ecosystem of collaborative service providers and consumers. Consequently, our approach enables applications to be dynamically configured at runtime in a manner that continually adapts to the preferences of the participants. Our agents are designed using decision theory and use ontologies. We evaluate our approach through simulation experiments.

/pdf/toward-autonomic-web-services-trust-and-selection-4oyo66xy8e.pdf

Toward autonomic web services trust and selection

In the current business environment in which companies are under increasing pressure not only to increase revenue but also to respond quickly to changing market conditions, companies will be successful only if they transform themselves and become on demand businesses. In this paper we describe the changes needed to effect this transformation, and in particular, we describe the important role played by componentization and by service orientation. We discuss the way componentization enables a business to operate in a value net, a network of partnerships with customers and suppliers supported by real-time information flows and information technology systems. We also describe the need for service orientation to achieve seamless integration of business components. We illustrate these ideas with a case study from the rental car business. Finally, we describe IBM activities in this area and the resulting methods and tools that help businesses deal with these challenges.

Impact of service orientation at the business level

https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/4511388.pdf

Rules of encounter: designing conventions for automated negotiation among computers

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is said to become an important cornerstone of the Internet of Services. However, while some market research and IT provider firms fervently support this point of view, others already conjure up the failure of this on-demand sourcing option. Oftentimes based on weak empirical data and shaky reasoning, these inconsistent perspectives lack scientific rigor and neglect to present a more differentiated picture of SaaS-adoption. This study seeks to deepen the understanding of factors driving the adoption of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). Grounded in transaction cost theory, the resource-based view, and the theory of planned behavior, we develop a research model to assess SaaS-adoption at the application level. Survey data of 297 firms in Germany with 374 valid response items across different industries were collected to test the theoretical model. Our analysis revealed that patterns on the decision on SaaS-adoption differ across application types. Social influence, attitude toward SaaS-adoption, adoption uncertainty, and strategic value turned out to be the strongest and most consistent drivers across all application types. Furthermore, we found that firm size does not matter in SaaS-adoption, since large enterprises and small- and medium-sized companies had similar adoption rates. Overall, this study provides relevant findings that IT vendors can use to better appeal to potential companies that consider adopting SaaS.

/pdf/drivers-of-saas-adoption-an-empirical-study-of-different-4ebpfwgvbi.pdf

Drivers of SaaS-Adoption – An Empirical Study of different Application Types

Cloud computing is one of the hottest topics in the field of information systems. In this paper, we conduct a citation and co-citation analysis on cloud computing research published in the 11-year period from 2004 to 2014. A total of 214 papers were selected from 20 leading academic journals in IS and management and 2 prominent international IS conferences for our analysis. In the citation analysis, we rely on the degree centrality and betweenness centrality to identify 41 important papers. In addition, our main path analysis reveals three development stages of cloud computing research: the incubation stage, the exploration stage, and the burgeoning stage. In the co-citation analysis, we employ a principal component factor analysis of the co-citation matrix to identify six major research themes: foundations, SaaS model, security and risk, literature review, adoption and impacts, and modeling. This is among the first studies to examine the knowledge structure of cloud computing research in the IS discipline by using evidence-based analysis methods. Recommendations for future research directions in cloud computing are provided based on our analysis. We use Citation and Co-Citation Analysis to examine the knowledge structure of cloud computing research in the IS discipline.214 papers were selected from 20 academic journals and two IS conferences in the 11-year period from 2004 to 2014.We identify 41 important papers and three development stages: the incubation, exploration, and burgeoning stage.Six major research themes are identified. Recommendations for future research directions in cloud computing are provided based on our analysis.

/pdf/cloud-computing-research-in-the-is-discipline-2l016xtzxg.pdf

Cloud computing research in the IS discipline

Understanding the philosophy behind components and services is necessary before choosing a solution to deal with change in software design.

Dealing with change: components versus services

This research is concerned with detecting defects in software requirements specification. Motivated by both the problem of producing reliable requirements and the limitations of existing taxonomies to provide a satisfactory level of information about defects in the requirements phase, we focus on providing a better tool for requirements analysts. Only few attempts have been made to classify defects and defect detection techniques. Scattered knowledge about defects and defect detection techniques needs compilation and re-evaluation in order to enhance the ability to discover defects in the requirements phase. Toward this end, this work presents a taxonomy of requirements defects and the causes of their occurrences. The purpose is to reach a comprehensive understanding of both the sources of the problem and the solutions of possible defects and defect detection techniques. The taxonomy’s design is based on the analysis of each defect and its sources. In addition, this paper proposes a combined-reading technique for defects in requirements. The proposed technique avoids the shortcomings of other reading techniques. The result of applying the recommendations of this work specifically improves the quality of the requirements specification and generally software quality.

Detecting defects in software requirements specification

Buy or rent? This question applies not only to houses and cars, but now to software.

Negotiating in service-oriented environments

Software as a service (SAAS) is a long-term research project aimed at developing technologies and methods for the rapid production and evolution of software systems by providing software as a service rather than as a product. Recently, there has been a growing interest in bringing intelligent solutions to Internet based computing. Automated negotiation has been at the center of such interest. This paper is concerned with the implications of negotiating software services under the software as a service model.

Software as a service: a negotiation perspective

As the software industry shifts towards a service-oriented model of development and delivery, complex forms of interaction, such as negotiation, will become dominant. The design of a negotiation system in the context of an open service-oriented model is a complex task and involves many interrelated issues. This paper presents a negotiation description language; the purpose of which is to provide a high-level description of a negotiation situation in such a way that facilitates human reasoning about negotiation-related aspects in a service-oriented context.

Ahmed Elfatatry

Papers

Dealing with change: components versus services

Detecting defects in software requirements specification

Negotiating in service-oriented environments

Software as a service: a negotiation perspective

A negotiation description language