Enterprise integration using the agent paradigm: foundations of multi-agent-based integrative business information systems

Enterprise integration through integrated business information systems (IBIS) is necessary to achieve agility in the current age of hyper-competition. Multi-agent systems (MAS) provide a new paradigm for IBIS development. In this paper, we review the IBIS modeling and MAS literatures and find that the MAS paradigm provides an excellent approach for modeling and implementing IBIS systems. We synthesize these two bodies of literature and propose a conceptual framework for multi-agentbased integrative business information systems (MIBIS) and a unified set of eight orthogonal ontological constructs that are minimally required for any conceptual modeling grammar for the MIBIS bounded universe of discourse. D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.