Nicola Gessa has been working with the XML-Lab structure of ENEA (the Italian national agency for environment, energy and new technologies) from 2003, and now he is engaged in the DTE-SEN CROSS laboratory of ENEA. He hold a Laurea degree and a PhD in Computer Science both from the University of Bologna. His research interests include interoperability architecture, ebusiness standard development and adoption and XML technologies. He is the author of several papers about the development of interoperability architecture. He works also on the study, analysis and development of software and tools for supply chain and business network optimisation and management. With ENEA he has participated in a research and technology transfer project dealing with interoperability and data exchange in a ‘traditional’ sector like the Textile-Clothing one, contributing in the development of the Moda-ML initiative (that aims to create and experience XML documents for the textile - clothing sector in the framework of an ebXML architecture). Since 2004 he participates to the European integrated project LeapFrog IP, integrated project addressed to Textile/Clothing industry (FP6-priority NMP), leaded by Euratex, with a specific task in defining a collaborative framework to support innovative organisations of the T/C industry. He has been in the Scientific and Technological Committee of the TexWIN project (ended in 2013), involved in activities for the definition of the project use cases and the definition of the communication framework for the data exchange within the software architecture.