Standards Groups Increase Cross-Participation to Enhance Interoperability

Boston, MA, USA; 25 February 2002 -- OASIS, the XML interoperability consortium, today announced it has entered into a liaison relationship with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)/International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Joint Technical Committee One on Information Technology. The relationship will allow representatives from each group to participate in the standards development work of the other. ISO/IEC JTC1/SC34, the JTC1 subcommittee for Document Description and Processing Languages, has joined OASIS as a contributor, and OASIS has become an ISO/IEC Category A Liaison member.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for two organizations with a long history of commitment to structured data to cooperate," said Dr. James David Mason, chairman of the ISO/IEC JTC1/SC34. "Mutual participation between JTC 1 and OASIS will result in synergistic effects. OASIS already has developed specifications that may be good candidates for JTC 1 standardization. Likewise, there are a number of ways OASIS can support existing ISO/IEC standards."

As examples of current collaborations, Mason points to RELAX NG, an XML schema language that was developed at OASIS and is currently under consideration as an ISO/IEC standard. Conversely, XML Topic Maps, a JTC 1 Standard (ISO/IEC 13250:2000) that provides a model for organizing, retrieving and navigating information resources, is now being advanced within OASIS.

"The task of providing interoperable specifications demands cooperation between the international standards-setting bodies. Broadening our collaborative relationship with JTC 1 minimizes the risk of divergent and competitive approaches to standardization and avoids duplication of efforts and confusion among users," said Karl Best, director of technical operations at OASIS. "Sharing information, OASIS technical committees and JTC 1 working groups can promote convergence where appropriate and advance the interests of the marketplace at-large."

This announcement follows recent news that OASIS has joined in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Electronic Business with ISO, IEC, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE). Working together, the groups plan to increase coordination across many different international programs for more efficient standards development and more rapid adoption in the global marketplace.

About OASIS
OASIS (www.oasis-open.org), a not-for-profit, global consortium, drives the development, convergence and adoption of e-business standards. Members themselves set the OASIS technical agenda, using a lightweight, open process expressly designed to promote industry consensus and unite disparate efforts. OASIS is the home for XML conformance, Web services, security, business transactions, electronic publishing, topic maps and other interoperability specifications development.

OASIS has more than 400 corporate and individual members in 100 countries around the world. OASIS and the United Nations jointly sponsor ebXML, a global framework for e-business data exchange. OASIS operates XML.org, a community clearinghouse for XML application schemas, vocabularies and related documents. OASIS also hosts The XML Cover Pages, an online reference collection for interoperable markup language standards.

About ISO
Established in 1947, ISO's mission is to promote the development of standardization and related activities in the world with a view to facilitating the international exchange of goods and services, and to developing cooperation in the spheres of intellectual, scientific, technological and economic activity.

About IEC
Founded in 1906, the IEC is the global organization that prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies. Its membership consists of more than 60 participating countries, including all the world's major trading nations and a growing number of industrializing countries.

For more information:
Carol Geyer
Director of Communications
OASIS
carol.geyer@oasis-open.org