e3service - A structured methodology for generating needs-driven IT-service bundles in a networked enterprise

IT-services should not only be considered from a technical perspective, but should also be seen as commercial services that satisfy a consumer need. Examples include well-known services such as Internet access or an email box. Typically, to satisfy a complex consumer need, a bundle of elementary services is required. In such a bundle, each elementary service can be offered by a different supplier. A key problem is then how to actually find service-bundles that satify customer needs as close as possible. Because IT-service bundles can be automatically provisioned online immediately after ordering, finding a service bundle satisfying a need should preferably also happen automatically. To this end, we propose the eservice ontology, which offers constructs from service marketing, but in a computational way, such that automated reasoning support can be developed to match consumer needs with IT-services. This paper presents the eservice ontology and explains it by a case study in the postal industry