Press Release

OASIS Launches Initiative to Standardize REST-based Open Data Protocol (OData)

Axway, CA Technologies, Citrix, IBM, Microsoft, Progress Software, Red Hat, SAP, SDL, and Others Collaborate to Free Siloed Data and Enable Cross-Platform Web and Mobile Applications

27 August 2012 – The OASIS international consortium has launched a new initiative that will standardize OData, a REST-based protocol that simplifies the querying and sharing of data across applications for re-use in the enterprise, Cloud, and mobile devices. OData enables information to be accessed from a variety of sources including relational databases, file systems, content management systems, and traditional Web sites. Addressing the demands of cloud computing, OData helps create a more open and programmable Web by providing a common approach to exposing and consuming data.

More than 57 members from around the world are now participating in the OASIS OData Technical Committee. Work has already begun. The group recently convened its first meeting where members agreed on a work agenda, elected co-chairs, and welcomed new supporters of the initiative.

“The timing was right to transition OData to a recognized, open-standards process, and OASIS was a natural choice,” noted Barbara Hartel of SAP AG, co-chair of the OASIS OData Technical Committee. “Our focus with OASIS is to build on version 3 of the core OData protocol. We intend to address requirements for extensions related to data aggregation, temporal data, JSON documents, and XML documents as streams.”

“The formation of the OASIS Technical Committee is an important next step in the advancement of OData as an open and interoperable protocol. We expect the work done by the OData Technical Committee to open up new possibilities in providing open data for the open web,” said Ram Jeya-raman of Microsoft Open Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation, co-chair of the OASIS OData Technical Committee.

OData began as an open project on the public OData site three years ago. OData producers, consumers and libraries (many of them open source) include Java, PHP, Drupal, Joomla, Node.js, .NET, SQL Server, MySQL, iOS, WP7, and Android.

Microsoft has contributed seven OData specification components, and IBM, Microsoft, and SAP have contributed four OData extension proposals to the OASIS OData Technical Committee.

“We’re seeing a wave of Cloud standardization projects at OASIS that use REST, AtomPub, and JSON technology,” said Laurent Liscia, OASIS executive director. “OData is an exciting addition to our portfolio. The response to the new Committee has been tremendous.”

The OData Technical Committee is open to all interested parties, and new members are encouraged to join at any time. Archives of the work are accessible to both members and non-members, and OASIS invites public review and comment on the work.

Support for OData

Axway
“The OASIS OData Technical Committee will openly review and enhance the OData submissions for REST-style access to URL identified data resources. OData leverages existing open standards, protocols and formats (AtomPub, XML, JSON and others) and, when combined with emerging web authorization standards, should provide useful technology conventions attracting a diverse range of developers.”
–Dale Moberg, Chief Architect, Axway

CA Technologies
“By tackling the problem of common data access, OASIS is taking a significant step in standardizing the way information is shared between applications and solutions. OData shows great potential in unlocking enterprise and cloud data across vendors and platforms, allowing our customers to more fully understand their business.”
— Don Kleinschnitz, Chief Development Officer, CA Technologies

IBM
“Five pillars of a modern IT shop are open source, open standards, open clouds, open data, and open APIs. IBM congratulates the OASIS community on its progress and efforts. Maturing the OData API as an open standard helps ensure it is an enterprise developer asset for software interoperability.”
— Todd Moore, Director Infrastructure Standards and Partnerships, IBM Software Group

Microsoft
“OData has become an important open protocol for several products across Microsoft to accomplish the goal of open data for the open Web. It’s encouraging to see numerous implementations across the industry, and this productive standards collaboration at OASIS.”
–Gianugo Rabellino, Senior Director of Microsoft Open Technologies, Inc.

Progress Software
“DataDirect works to ensure that it’s at the forefront of the development of all emerging data access stand-ards. As we’ve done with ODBC and JDBC, we want to help shape the future of standards in the cloud and provide our customers with the widest array of data access options available. We look forward to working with the OData Technical Committee to that end.”
–Jesse Davis, Director, DataDirect Research and Development, Progress Software

Red Hat
“Red Hat is pleased to be supporting the OData Technical Committee. We believe that the aims behind the Open Data Protocol are in line with the increased adoption of REST and other Web technologies in the enterprise space today, and we intend to work with the TC to ensure this continues.”
–Dr. Mark Little, Senior Technical Director, Red Hat

SAP
“SAP is committed to helping drive the standardization of OData at OASIS, and it’s good to see broad industry support for the OData Technical Committee. This is important to refine the OData specifications and ensure their applicability in diverse usage scenarios, which, in turn, is important for SAP customers. The broader the support for OData on application platforms, Web environments, and mobile device technologies, the more developers can rely on the standard and focus on building beautiful apps that consume data services exposed by SAP NetWeaver Gateway® technology.”
— Claus von Riegen, VP, Industry Standards and Open Source, SAP

SDL
“SDL, provider of Global Information Management solutions, is pleased to see the OASIS effort to standardize the AtomPub-based OData protocol, while at the same time improving and expanding on the protocol’s existing capabilities. SDL has pioneered the use of OData in its Web Content Management product SDL Tridion, believing that this will eventually lead to better integration and interoperability across information providers and information consumers in the enterprise and in the web.”
— Dennis van der Veeke, CTO at SDL

Additional information:
OASIS OData Technical Committee

About OASIS:
OASIS is a not-for-profit, international consortium that drives the development, convergence and adoption of open standards for the global information society. OASIS promotes industry consensus and produces worldwide standards for cloud computing, content technologies, business transactions, security, privacy, SOA, the Smart Grid, emergency management, and other applications. OASIS open standards offer the potential to lower cost, stimulate innovation, grow global markets, and protect the right of free choice of technology. OASIS members broadly represent the marketplace of public and private sector technology leaders, users, and influencers. The consortium has more than 5,000 participants representing over 600 organizations and individual members in 100 countries.

Press contact:
communications@oasis-open.org