A Reference Architecture for Digital Ecosystems

Digital ecosystems are a new type of application based on a “universal digital environment” populated by digital entities that form communities that evolve and interact with information exchange and who trade digital objects that are produced through the system. Entities that participate and form the ecosystem can be applications running not only on simple devices: wearable, sensors, actuators, but also on complex services executed on smartphones, tablets, personal computers, company servers, etc. A reference architecture for digital ecosystems is a step toward standardization, as it defines a set of guidelines in designing and implementing a digital ecosystem. Often such architectures are very abstract, difficult to understand and implement. In this chapter, we introduce a vendorand technology-neutral reference architecture for digital ecosystems and apply this architecture to an actual use case.