Patent ID: 8010419

Claim:
A method, comprising: receiving, at a receiver of a processor based system, an identification (ID) tag associated with a transferable business item from a first domain-specific entity, wherein the first domain-specific entity corresponds to a first association between electronic data records and domain specific business applications for the first domain-specific entity that is distinct from a second association between electronic data records and domain specific business applications for a second domain-specific entity, and wherein the ID tag is unique to the first domain-specific entity and customized with parameters and formats specific to a particular business environment of the first domain-specific entity including business practices and tracking models for the first domain-specific entity; allocating a virtual object ID for the transferable business item in response to receiving the domain-specific ID tag, wherein the virtual object ID serves as a universal ID that can be communicated across and outside of domain-specific boundaries of the first domain-specific entity, to exchange data associated with the transferable business item between de-centralized systems of the first domain-specific entity and the second domain-specific entity, the virtual object ID not including the parameters and formats specific to business practices of the first domain-specific entity; receiving, at the receiver of the processor based system, artifact metadata associated with the transferable business item, wherein the artifact metadata tracks activity of the transferable business item from either of the first or the second domains; and associating, via a correlation agent of the processor based system, the artifact metadata with the virtual object ID.