Interoperability has different meanings in different contexts; in the Information Technology (IT) space, the term is generally understood to mean the ability of different IT networks, applications, or components to exchange and use information, i.e., to "talk" to each other.
In today’s heterogeneous IT marketplace, "interoperability" can be defined as the ability of diverse IT applications or systems to exchange and use information. This is increasingly required of industry and governments alike. IT users of all types continue to demand interoperability, in order to reduce costs and complexity, and they are increasingly deploying the best products from multiple vendors to meet their IT needs. Thus, whether it is sharing data between applications written in different programming languages, or trying to log on across multiple systems, the challenge is to enable technologies to work together without compromising their distinctive underlying capabilities.
