A summary of the research paper:

www.semantic-web-journal.net

Overview

This paper by Daniel Oberle from SAP Research presents a comprehensive analysis of how ontologies can benefit enterprise applications, based on over 5 years of industrial research experience. It addresses the common enterprise question: "What business problem is semantics solving?"

Core Argument

While individual technological features of ontologies aren't unique, specific combinations of features create unique value propositions compared to alternative technologies like databases, UML, or XML schemas.

Key Technological Features Identified

1. Conceptual Modeling

• Classes, properties, instances, rules & axioms
• Better correspondence to end-user understanding than machine-oriented models

2. Agile Schema Development

• Runtime adaptability ("schema last" approach)
• APIs for managing classes and properties during application execution
• Evolution strategies for handling schema changes

3. Direct Interaction

• User-friendly interfaces: graphical, wiki-based, natural language
• Generic tools enabled by standardised ontology languages

4. Reuse

• Individual, community, or world-level agreement on conceptual models
• Declarative nature makes ontologies particularly suitable for reuse