摘要
Future water shortages require immediate action on development of resources, reduction of demand and higher efficiency in treatment and transmission. Future flood risk management requires immediate action in risk assessment, defence and alleviation systems, forecasting and warning systems and institutional and governance measures. Technology has been revolutionized over recent years and now, matured with mass production allowing wider uptake of methods and devices. The current situation in the water domain is characterized by a low level of maturity concerning standardization of ICT solutions and business processes. The massive and rapid spread of communicating devices within the Society and their application to the industrial sectors is not coordinated. The only relevant angle for the development of these technologies (M2 M) within the water domain has to be based on the identification of the added value provided in each business process by the introduction of the new solutions. In order to identify which and how ICT solutions can be implemented, it is necessary to look at the water cycle through an approach based on functional domains and business processes. The water uses are associated to business processes and are linked to economical and social values. The final step of the approach is then to identify for each business process how ICT solutions can be implemented and provide added value. This diagnostic has to be shared by professionals and operators in order to ensure a coherent deployment. The motivation of the @qua entity (www.a-qua.org) which gathers major actors from water and ICT domains, is now to ensure this role at the interface with the different actors of the water domain and to elaborate a consistent vision for the future of ICT solutions within the water domain.