Most of the activity within companies and organizations are today computer aided, with an extensive usage of model based approach relying on behavioral models for designing and monitoring products and their environment, being production, support or operational environments. However the non interoperability remains an important issue when willing to ensure continuous operational interoperability at an acceptable price. Many years ago, ontology was identified as an interoperability enabler, in particular for what concerns semantic interoperability. Through applied research Return of EXperience in the Manufacturing area, through topics such as Product Life Cycle Management, Model Based System Engineering and Virtual Manufacturing, the actual challenges for ontologies to keep their promises will be discussed.