A Replacement for EDI : Will BSI Take the World by Storm ? 1

This paper analyses the problems which are being faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular when integrating EDI with their internal systems. For example, multiple document translation standards (and the various implementations which exist for each) must often be supported by a single company; and each of these EDI subsets must be mapped manually to their application flat files. A variety of solutions exist to help address this integration problem, including industry-specific and generic implementation guidelines, tabledriven EDI software and Internet-based EDI services. We then describe a new technology called BSI (Business Systems Interoperation), developed by Ken Steel from the University of Melbourne, Australia, which is intended to replace EDI and solve the integration problem. This technology is able to map two application flat files directly (without requiring manual mapping) using specification files which describe the structure and content of both flat files. Having discussed the BSI mechanism and the way in which it addresses the EDI integration problem, we analyse the limitations of this possible alternative to EDI and identify the issues which must still be addressed if BSI is to be adopted successfully. 1 This paper was published in the proceedings of "Bled'97 10th International Conference on Electronic Commerce, Bled, Slovenia, June 9-11, 353-383.