By definition, the iterative life cycle of B2B collaboration includes the following steps:
- Process Definition
- Partner Discovery
- Partner Sign-up
- Electronic Plug-in
- Process Execution
- Process Management
- Process Evolution
The overall ebXML specifications are intended to cover almost the entire process of B2B collaboration and are designed to meet the needs described above.
The ebXML architecture as defined by the ebXML team provides:
- A way to define business processes and their associated messages and content.
- A way to register and discover business process sequences with related message exchanges.
- A way to define company profiles.
- A way to define trading partner agreements.
- A uniform message transport layer.
Consequently, the technical architecture of ebXML is composed of five modules:
- Business Process Specifications
- Partner Profile and Agreements
- Registry and Repository
- Core Components
- Messaging Service
These modules will be covered in the next five subsequent chapters. The diagram diagram shows the simplified architecture of ebXML:
