With companies and governments facing increased pressure to maximise the value they are getting out of their IT infrastructure, the role of software interoperability has moved from being a technology issue to that of a business one.
By definition, interoperability means the ability of different IT networks, applications, or components to exchange and use information. The ability of different systems being able to talk to one another can have important economic consequences for companies and governments.
"Promoting interoperability in various situations like e-government should be encouraged, to avoid challenges and potential failure where software companies cannot offer users ways in which to communicate with one another using disparate systems," says Ashley de Klerk, Public Sector Director at Microsoft South Africa.
Apart from making business sense, software interoperability is seen as a good way for software companies to offer their clients the choice of using different systems and not committing themselves to a specific way of doing things to the exclusion of others.
"Software interoperability enhances the end-user experience by making his IT life less complicated. At its core, interoperability echoes the trend in IT towards doing more with less," says Roy Blume, IT research manager at BMI-TechKnowledge.
De Klerk agrees: "Interoperability enables users to get the most out of their systems by reducing the burden on the application infrastructure requirements of an organisation. This enables disparate systems to be linked up to streamline the user experience," says de Klerk.
Microsoft South Africa is hosting an Interoperability Round Table on 24 May to discuss these and other issues related to interoperability. The Round Table will be a frank discussion around innovation and interoperability, standards and open content, and the difference between interoperability and interchangeability.
In addition to hosting key Microsoft spokespeople like de Klerk and Potlaki Maine, National Technology Officer, the event will also see Blume providing an analyst`s perspective on interoperability and will have Stafford Masie, MD of Novell South Africa talk about how interoperability builds bridges between rival companies.
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