f Should we store all data in standardized data stores?

In the geo-sciences there is a strong tendency towards integration of disciplines. This will have its impact on computer applications and the data these applications use. Currently the most promising contribution in this area is the Software Integration Platform (SIP) by the Petrotechnical Open Software Corporation (POSC). In this approach an integrated data model ('Epicentre') forms the base of an industry-wide solution for data integration problems.