The purpose of this paper is to describe how workflow technologies can be applied to the integration of utility business processes. The applications range from simple approval processes for a work order to complex processes such as outage restoration or preventive and corrective maintenance. Currently, a key trend in systems integration is the use of web services to provide the means to integrate systems and products in an open, uniform manner, where externalized application interfaces are typically defined using web services definition language (WSDL). Additionally, there is also a trend towards the use of 'document-centric' WSDL, where web services are invoked using potentially complex business documents defined using a common model/vocabulary appropriate for the domain, such as the Common Information Model (CIM) for electric utilities, and XML Schema. This style of integration is readily supported by EAI vendors and an ever growing set of application vendors.
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