A Semantic Web Business Case Jeff Pollock, Oracle Corporation

Terms like “Semantic Web,” “Web 3.0,” and the “Data Web” have been interchangeably used to describe the underlying vision behind recently approved technology standards created by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). However catchy, none of these buzz words supply any hint about this new technology’s ability to transform the foundation of enterprise software, empower radical new business capabilities, and throttle back IT spending in the notoriously expensive areas of data integration, master data management, and enterprise information management.
The Semantic Web is a fundamentally unique way of specifying data and data relationships. It is more declarative, more expressive, and more consistently repeatable than Java/C++, Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS), and XML documents. It builds upon and preserves the conventional data models’ respective strengths.

This Business Case will articulate why the Semantic Web will:
- Empower, directly and indirectly, new business capabilities
- Throttle back IT expenditures within medium and large businesses
- …By transforming the foundation of enterprise software, and data integration in particular

We encourage the reader to take the following actions:
- invest in training and skills development now
- prototype a solution and explore the new tools now
- probe your software vendors about their semantic technology roadmap now
- compel your enterprise architects to formulate a multi-year metadata strategy now

By the end of this short paper, the reader should understand the overall superiority of Semantic Web technologies and be able to describe why it is very likely that they will be embedded in the fabric of nearly all data-intensive software within several years.

Enterprise software buyers and technology approvers make decisions that impact about $150 Billion  worth of mainstream software spending each year, primarily coming from medium and large businesses that typically have revenues greater than $50 million per year. Although the Semantic Web itself may have an impact on other software markets, like Consumer Software or embedded software for Electronics on other Devices, we are not exploring those market areas for this paper. For the purposes of this Business Case, we specifically look at the kinds of software procured within corporations for industrial use that may include:

- Infrastructure Software, including: RDBMS, Data Warehousing and Appliances, Enterprise Integration Technologies (SOA, Data Integration, Master Data Management, etc), Security
- Packaged Applications, including: Enterprise Resource Planning and Vertical Specialty Applications
- Information Management, including: Business Intelligence, Performance Management, Content Management, Master Data Management

These enterprise technologies are typically purchased in order to achieve specific program objectives that are driven by core business owners, including:

- Competitive Pressures — the cost of keeping up with overall industry improvements
- Executive Mandates — to fulfill new business initiatives mandated by sponsoring executives
- Cost Controls — to streamline outdated processes and generate new efficiencies
- Regulatory Demands — the requirement to meet corporate, local, state and federal governance
- Strategic Advantages — gaining business advantage through use of information; for example, in collaboration

But what factors impact a buying decision for enterprise software? Contrary to popular belief, the relative goodness or technical superiority of the software is rarely a decision-making advantage for the vendors. Likewise, the long-term strategic fit of the technology is usually not enough for a substantial enterprise software buy. Instead, the following selection criteria most frequently drive how large sums of money for enterprise software changes hands:

- Lowest Risk Option — where risk is calculated on the basis of overall fit and vendor reputation
- Tactical Fit — where the short-term requirements trump any long-term disadvantages
- Partner Choices — where the important ties between customer and vendor matter

Strong business relationships will trump other buying factors in most cases. Usually it is a function of risk: if you’ve been successful with a partner previously, you inherently trust them more, and view their suggestions as less risky than a new, unknown, vendor. In most cases, this is just simple, smart business.
The Semantic Web cannot explicitly bolster any particular partnership choices, nor can the technology itself help buyers overcome any personal doubts about a particular vendor’s employees.
However, it is worth noting that most large enterprise software vendors, and many small ones, have already begun to adopt Semantic Web technologies and embed them into their mainstream products. In fact, leading enterprise software vendors like HP, IBM, Microsoft,Oracle, SAP, and Software AG all currently provide Applications and Tools that support Semantic Web specifications.
Ask your partners about their plans to adopt Semantic Web standards for metadata and data.
If your mainstream partners are unwilling or unable to articulate clear guidance about their roadmap for data and metadata management, there are many mid-size vendors who would appreciate your time and can give you details about the future of Semantic Web technology for enterprise software.
Trusted relationships will usually lead to good business decisions, but in the realm of technology and data management your trusted advisors must be innovative as well as safe.