Semantic Technologies Seminar – Semantic-Based Protocols, Technologies, and Approaches

While semantics-based technologies and approaches may be new to many people, the ideas behind them are firmly grounded in established concepts of information theory and software practices and intersect with a number of existing technology domains including the World Wide Web, search, content management, enterprise integration, database management, web services, and web applications. The ramifications are profound and touch on both consumer and enterprise uses.

Earlier this year, the World Wide Web Consortium released the Resource Description Framework (RDF) and the OWL Web Ontology Language (OWL) as W3C Recommendations. This announcement is the final step in the W3C approval process and an important milestone ushering in the era of semantic computing. Even in the short period since the announcements, these protocols have quickly moved from the research world into commercial use. FOAF (Friend-of-a-Friend) and RSS (Real Simple Syndication), both based on RDF constructs, are quickly finding use by hundreds of thousands of users on the web and in the blogosphere.

To address the impact of these protocols and technologies, SDForum, TopQuadrant, Enterprise Architect magazine, and Always-On Network have banded together to bring an impressive group of thought leaders and practitioners together to address the underlying protocols and enabling technologies, the approaches and applications in use today, and the enterprising directions just a few years out.

By the end of this seminar, you will be rethinking both the maturity level of the Web and the role of middleware within the enterprise. Many of you may also leave envisioning new business and consumer applications and start-up opportunities.