Model for Trans-sector Digital Interoperability

Interoperability refers to the ability of two or more systems or components to exchange information and to use the information that has been exchanged. The importance of interoperability has grown together with the adoption of Digital Information Networks (DINs). DINs refer to information networks supported by telecommunication infrastructures and terminated by microprocessors. With an upcoming interest in services science and trans-sector business models, a stronger driver arises to further break the interoperability barriers across sectors. In this paper, we propose a novel model to address trans-sector digital interoperability, which by definition involves interoperability across different economic sectors connected by DINs. Particularly, we specify how a well known interoperability framework, the ATHENA framework, should be adapted for the economic sector plane. Based on data from the Eurostat survey on ICT usage and e-Commerce in enterprises and using a trans-sector scenario example, we illustrate how conclusions about trans-sector interoperability can be extracted and technological implications can be derived.