Software Engineering Institute

This report presents general computation trends and a particular set of emerging technologies to support the trends for software-reliant systems of systems (SoSs). Software-reliant SoSs now tend to be highly distributed software systems, formed from constituent software systems that are operated and managed by different organizations. These SoSs are moving from a directed management structure (in which constituent systems are integrated and built for a specific purpose) to a virtual one (in which there is no central authority or centrally agreed purpose). This shift is introducing a need for new technologies to deal with the lack of central authority or centrally agreed purpose.