Project Background
New approaches to business networking
The pressures of global competition and the need for effectiveness and agility demand new approaches to business networking. Many organisations today are moving from fairly stable business networks to an open digital platform, where business is conducted across a rapidly formed network with anyone, who is located anywhere, despite different business processes and computer systems. Digital technologies play a fundamental role in these business networks. The technologies have facilitated improvements and fundamental changes in the ways in which organisations can interact with each other and they have introduced the possibility to form alliances to create new business opportunities.
For a competitive Europe of the future
The European Union has also set ambitious goals for a competitive Europe of the future. The targets regarding the information society and the digital economy are described in the action plan i2010, which demands “A European Information Society for growth and employment”. To this end, Europe needs “an open and competitive digital economy” wherein enterprises in particular need to address network and information security “more as an asset and an element of competitive advantage than as a “negative cost”.
Preparing for the digital economy
SPIKE aims to lower the barriers for Europe’s enterprises to participate in the digital economy in a secure way and to open up new business opportunities. The underlying idea is that a global digital economy in all its facets would be of benefit for European SMEs in particular. However, it is the SMEs that face the most difficulties when adopting new technologies. This may be due to a lack of resources, professional competence, or the business risk of failed or missed technology adoption. This risk could be conceived as fatal, as it could threaten the financial existence of a smaller company.
Furthermore, a lack of suitable tools and technologies cause the SMEs to keep their eBusiness on a one-to-one basis. This means that an SME usually provides services for one large customer and that this single customer defines the process rules for the business services. Thus, SMEs are forced to align their processes to serve only one client, which makes them very dependent on their client’s success.
Innovative business models, tight collaboration and division of services
There have been various approaches encouraging companies to prepare for the digital economy in networked environments. Although these initiatives have been successful as a first step, there are still many obstacles for enterprises and especially for SMEs. Many SMEs face fierce competition due to the open markets and globalization. Often they cannot compete in direct production costs, but are successful with innovative business models, tight collaboration, and division of services (between sub-suppliers, partners, and subsidiaries).
There are several other EU-funded projects that deal with similar issues as SPIKE. SPIKE is needed to further develop and offer the following:
- Develop semantic processes and business processes
- Develop benefit for virtual organisations of all sizes and types
- Offer process and security support
- Offer support for short-term alliances
- Offer an open source solution
