Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) Ratified as OASIS Standard

Boston, MA, USA; 5 May 2004 — The OASIS standards consortium today announced that its members have approved the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) version 1.0 as an OASIS Standard, a status that signifies the highest level of ratification. CAP enables the exchange of emergency alert and public warning information over data networks and computer-controlled warning systems. By limiting transport-specific nomenclature, CAP remains remains fully compatible with existing public warning systems, including those designed for multilingual and special-needs populations, as well as with XML applications such as Web services.

"The CAP OASIS Standard has been designed to allow a consistent warning message to be communicated simultaneously over different systems," explained Allen Wyke, chair of the OASIS Emergency Management Technical Committee. "By standardizing on a format, technology developers and vendors in the emergency, incident, and business continuity fields will be able to take a huge step forward in sharing this critical, and potentially life saving, information."

CAP is also expected to reduce costs and operational complexity by helping simplify the software interfaces needed to interact with the many sources and dissemination systems involved in all-hazard warnings.

The new OASIS Standard addresses emergencies and incidents that apply to both the private and public sectors. CAP has been implemented by U.S. national and local agencies including the Department of Homeland Security, the National Weather Service, the United States Geological Survey, California Office of Emergency Services, and the Virginia Department of Transportation as well as companies such as Blue292. CAP data elements have been incorporated in the U.S. Department of Justice’s "Global Justice XML Data Model."

"DHS/FEMA is extremely proud of the role we have played in the establishment of the CAP standard through our participation with OASIS," said Chip Hines, program manager for Homeland Security’s Disaster Management eGov Initiative. "We are pleased that our initiative has been able to demonstrate that the standard works across a variety of vendor products. We strongly support the development of standards that will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our nation to prepare for and respond to all emergencies. We intend to continue to use the OASIS process to further these goals."

"The implementation of CAP goes a long way toward making alert and warning more accessible to local governments via a plug-and-play environment," commented Elizabeth F. Klute, Community Warning System Manager for the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff Emergency Services in California.

About OASIS

OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards) is a not-for-profit, international consortium that 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. The consortium produces more Web services standards than any other organization along with standards for security, e-business, and standardization efforts in the public sector and for application-specific markets. Founded in 1993, OASIS has more than 3,000 participants representing over 600 organizations and individual members in 100 countries. Approved OASIS Standards include CAP, DocBook, DSML, ebXML, SAML, SPML, UDDI, WSRP, WSS, XACML, and XCBF. http://www.oasis-open.org

More information:

OASIS Emergency Management Technical Committee http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/emergency

Cover Pages: "XML and Emergency Management" http://xml.coverpages.org/emergencyManagement.html#oasis

Press contact:

Carol Geyer Director of Communications OASIS carol.geyer@oasis-open.org +1.978.667.5115 x209