Regulated and unregulated message exchange

What does a "regulated" or "unregulated" message exchange mean? Un-regulated e-business interactions are typically...

used for loose coupling of applications within an organization, or for on-demand simpler service requests. These types of interactions typically follow a request/response interaction pattern that is synchronous in nature.

The service definitions do not require the requester and provider to collaborate at a peer level (at a peer level, both parties would be able to initiate interactions with the other), instead the service provider simply responds in a synchronous manner to the service requester. These types of interactions are best suited for information dispersal, or for application integration within the organization.

Web Services and EbXML type frameworks can be utilized for most simplistic un-regulated interactions, while Web services are more suited for application integration within the organization (important note: it is inappropriate to consider B2B interactions between organizations as simply the task of integrating applications. This type of e-business activity is typically the domain of regulated e-business interactions, and requires relationship definition, business process definition, and further constraints that are well beyond the applicability of application integration).

Regulated interactions are utilized for e-business processes that are based on established business processes with well-defined procedures and interaction scenarios. For example, the business scenario that contains the activities and progression from placing an order to the receiving of invoice and making of payment, need to occur as precisely described regulated e-business interactions that occur between business partners interacting as peers.

Regulated e-business interactions are typically needed for mission critical applications, that require sufficient robustness in the interactions to express business constraints, agreements, and conditions that could be held contractually binding in a legal situation. EDI, RosettaNet and EbXML are the types of frameworks considered robust and acceptable for regulated e-business interactions.