Cloud Computing and SOA Convergence in Your Enterprise: A Step ...

92 Chapter 5 Working from Your Data to the Clouds
triples. An OWL ontology is made up of several components, some of which are
optional and some of which may be repeated.
Using these Web-based standards as the jumping-off point for ontology
and cloud computing, it is possible to define and automate the use of ontologies
in both intracompany and intercompany domains. Domains made up of
thousands of systems, all with their own semantic meanings, are bound
together in a common ontology that makes short work of cloud computing
and defines a common semantic meaning of data in and between on-premise
and cloud-based systems.
Extending from the languages, we have several libraries available for a variety
of vertical domains, including financial services and e-business. We also
have many knowledge editors that support the creation of ontologies, as well as
the use of natural-language processing methodologies. We have seen these in
commercially available knowledge mapping and visualization tools using standard
notations such as Unified Modeling Language (UML).
Ontologies and Web standards that support ontologies are nothing new.
However, considering that cloud computing provides a centralized location to
create and share ontologies, I suspect it will become more important to architecture
in general and to architecture that leverages cloud computing.
Understanding the Data
We know that if we look at cloud computing, we need to understand where
the data exists, gather information about the data (e.g., schema and metadata
information), and apply business principles to determine which data
flows where and why (see Figure 5.4). This step fits into the larger steps that
are depicted in Figure 5.5.
In short, implementing a cloud-based solution demands more than the
movement and persistence of data within all systems in the problem domain.
A successful solution requires that the enterprise also define how that information
flows through it and how it is related to core services and core business
processes (defined in Chapters 6 and 7).
In essence, what we are doing here is getting down to the details about the
existing data, or data that is a part of new information systems. We are not analyzing
this information as a component that will certainly reside in the clouds,
but to provide a base of understanding to consider whether the information