Boston, MA, November 30, 1999--OASIS, the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards, recently advised NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, on the impact of XML on information technology development and its potential for NATO's information systems. Dr. Robert S. Sutor (IBM), chief strategy officer of OASIS, addressed participants in the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A) XML Workshop in The Hague, The Netherlands.

The NC3A XML Workshop analyzed potential application areas for XML in NATO and assessed (in global terms) the benefits which adoption offers. The Workshop reviewed the development status of XML and took stock of defense-related XML activities within NATO and its member countries. OASIS contributed to the development of recommendations for a way ahead for NATO regarding XML (bodies to be involved, potential exploratory prototyping or pilot activities, and participation in the international XML standardization effort).

"NATO and its member nations recognize the need to encode agreements on information exchange in XML before a plethora of uncoordinated, non-interoperable encodings get developed in defense systems projects," explained Dr. Klaus G. Muller of the NC3A. "We welcome input from OASIS on where and how it can help on NATO's path towards XML adoption, both between NATO systems and between NATO and its member nations. The vendor independence of OASIS is crucial for us."

"OASIS is the operator of the XML.org industry portal for XML applications and is the only non-profit, vendor-neutral international consortium wholly dedicated to the advancement of structured information standards such as XML. OASIS is thus well-positioned to offer NATO important insights into the rapid adoption of XML in many industries around the globe," added Sutor.

About OASIS
OASIS (http://www.oasis-open.org) is a non-profit, international consortium dedicated solely to product-independent data and content interchange. Focusing on product interoperability, OASIS embraces the complete spectrum of structured information standards including XML, SGML and CGM. OASIS sponsors include Adobe Systems, AND-USA, Arbortext, Bentley Systems, Boeing, Chrystal Software, Commerce One, Corel, DataChannel, DMSi, Documentum, Dun & Bradstreet, Enigma, Excelergy, Extricity Software, GCA, IBM, Inso, InterCAP, Interleaf, Interwoven, ISOGEN, ITEDO, Keyfile, Larson Software, Microsoft, NextPage, NIST, Object Design, Oracle, POET Software, Reed Technology, Reuters, Sabre, Sequoia Software, SoftQuad, Software AG, STEP, Sun Microsystems, Synthbank, System Development, Wavo, Xerox, XMLSolutions, XyEnterprise and Zeh Graphics Systems.

About XML.org
XML.org (http://xml.org) is a self-supporting community resource designed to provide a credible source of accurate, timely information about the application of XML in industrial and commercial settings. Hosted by OASIS, the world's leading independent organization for the standardization of XML applications in electronic commerce, XML.org serves as a reference for XML DTDs, schemas and related information. Sponsors of XML.org include: Commerce One, DataChannel, Documentum, GCA, IBM, Oracle, SAP, SoftQuad and Sun Microsystems.

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For more information:
Carol Geyer,
Program Manager,
OASIS,
+1.412.963.1479,
carol.geyer@oasis-open.org

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