OASIS Joins International Alliance of Standards-Setting Bodies for Electronic Business

XML Consortium Unites in MoU with IEC, ISO, ITU, and UN/ECE

Geneva, Switzerland and Boston, MA, USA; 11 February 2002 — OASIS, the XML interoperability consortium, joined the four International Standards Organizations in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Electronic Business. Founding members of the MoU include the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE). As the newest invited member of the MoU, OASIS adds its resources to the efforts of these international standards-setting bodies to coordinate the development of global standards for electronic business. “We welcome OASIS to the MoU on Electronic Business,” noted Cynthia L. Fuller, Chair of the MoU Management Group. “The consortium’s work with UN/CEFACT on ebXML, the specifications that provide an infrastructure for e-business information exchange, is just one example of the many contributions OASIS continues to make towards interoperability. OASIS members span the globe in a united effort to promote convergence and collaboration, and we look forward to their involvement as active members of the MoU.” “OASIS is honored to be invited to participate in this MoU and contribute to its work in furthering the interoperability of electronic business standards worldwide,” said Patrick Gannon, President and CEO of OASIS. “Working together, we can help to increase coordination across many different international programs for more efficient standards development and more rapid adoption that will benefit the entire global marketplace.” The Electronic Business MoU establishes a coordination mechanism under a unique cooperative model to produce mutually supportive standards required in business transactions (data interchange and interoperability), as well as product design and manufacturing to meet the urgent needs of both industry and end-users. “The purpose of the MoU is to minimize the risk of divergent and competitive approaches to standardization, avoid duplication of efforts and confusion amongst users,” said Houlin Zhao, Director of ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau. “Under the MoU’s Management Group, for instance, ITU technical groups will be able to share their agendas with OASIS technical committees to promote convergence where appropriate and advance the interests of the marketplace at-large.” According to Dr. Carol Cosgroves-Sacks, Director, UNECE Trade Division, “Since 1999, OASIS and UN/CEFACT have worked closely together, uniting developers from around the world on ebXML. UN/ECE appreciates the contributions OASIS members bring to the standards process, and we look forward to continuing and broadening our cooperative relationship under the MoU.” ISO Secretary-General, Dr. Lawrence D. Eicher, commented, “Participation from OASIS underscores the role of the Electronic Business MoU as a partnership between the governmental and private sectors. It lays the foundation for a healthy future development of e-commerce to the benefit of all stakeholders.” IEC’s General Secretary, Mr Aharon Amit, added, “We recognize that within electronic business, there is the potential for convergence for all types of data interchange. OASIS joins the MoU in advancing a work program that is tailored to bring all types of information exchange development within a single framework.” 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 hosts The XML Cover Pages, an online reference collection for interoperable markup language standards. For more information: Carol Geyer Director of Communications OASIS carol.geyer@oasis-open.org +1.978.667.5115 x209