Integrating agent based information outsourcing techniques on data warehousing systems

Abstract

In the last few years, information outsourcing has been a current activity in large companies. Information has become a regular trading commodity. It is a well-known fact that direct mailing companies acquire databases, or other kind of information sources, from other companies with the names and addresses of potential clients. Also, enterprise managers are frequently concerned with the current status and welfare of their clients and suppliers. Commonly, they appeal to specialized external information providers who may, under certain conditions, provide them with specific profiles about such potential commercial partners. In companies with effective means of information processing, it is very probable that such information needs may be directly satisfied from data stored and managed in the company's data warehouse. In this paper, we propose a protocol, based on economic principles, that enables the automatic negotiation of information transfer between the data warehouse systems of different companies. The protocol is designed to be used by a community of intelligent agents that is responsible for ensuring and supporting all the operational tasks related to information outsourcing among companies.