Middleware for a global maintenance platform

This article introduces principles of a communication middleware for a distributed software system. The main goal of that middleware is to integrate legacy applications, which are spread on different sites. The main design criteria of that middleware was to provide solutions for plant and machinery maintenance workflows. This paper is based on the results and actual activities of the project PROTEUS sponsored by the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany under the label of European Commission Initiative ITEA.