OASIS Enhances Support for Members in Europe

XML Interoperability Consortium Opens Office in the Netherlands and Appoints Pim van der Eijk as European Representative

Amsterdam, 16 July 2001 -- OASIS, the XML interoperability consortium, enhanced support for its growing membership in Europe by opening a new office in the Netherlands, headed by Pim van der Eijk. As the OASIS European Representative, van der Eijk will support and expand OASIS membership in Europe by organizing activities and promoting involvement in the technical work of the Consortium.

"OASIS already enjoys strong participation from the European community," noted van der Eijk. "OASIS sponsorship includes many of Europe's largest technology companies, such as EADS, Deutsche Post SAP and Software AG, European innovators such as empolis, Itedo, Republica and StreamServe, as well as Europe-based staff of international companies such as IBM, Microsoft and Sun Microsystems. These members are actively involved in advancing OASIS projects that include ebXML and XML-based specifications for election and voter services and electronic business transactions."

According to van der Eijk, European organizations are drawn to OASIS because the Consortium encourages open collaboration on interoperability issues critical to European companies. The international focus of the Consortium facilitates global participation. Members of each technical committee specify which language they will use to conduct their work, and most discussions are held via email or conference calls to accommodate participants from multiple continents. When face-to-face meetings are held, a technical committee chooses a location convenient to its own members.

"Having an office in the Netherlands will enable the Consortium to enhance the service our European members have enjoyed since OASIS was founded," commented Laura Walker, executive director of OASIS. "With his extensive background in XML, SGML and electronic business, Pim will be a great asset to the growth of the Consortium."

Prior to joining OASIS, van der Eijk held technology positions at Excelon, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and Digital Equipment Corporation. He is an active participant in the Dutch SGML/XML User Group.

About OASIS
OASIS (http://www.oasis-open.org) is the international, not-for-profit consortium that advances electronic business by promoting open, collaborative development of interoperability specifications. With the United Nations, OASIS sponsors ebXML, a global framework for electronic business data exchange. OASIS operates XML.ORG, the non-commercial portal that delivers information on the use of XML in industry. The XML.ORG Registry provides as an open community clearinghouse for distributing and locating XML application schemas, vocabularies and related documents. OASIS serves as the home for industry groups interested in developing XML specifications. OASIS technical work embraces conformance, security, business transactions, repositories and other interoperability issues.