A framework for STEP-based harmonization of conceptual models

Information and communications technology combined with the use of open-standards can be a very powerful tool to improve enterprise competitiveness. Organizations have been searching for flexible integrated environments to better manage their services and product life cycle, where their software applications could be easily integrated independently of the platform in use. This paper proposes a standard-based framework to support data model integration and interoperability at meta-level. Through its usage, integration between legacy systems, applications and services could be eased, thus stimulating collaboration between organizations