Press
Release ECE/TRADE/99/19
Geneva, 9 December 1999
Organizations from Around the World Gather to Launch
ebXML Global Electronic Business Initiative
(Geneva, Switzerland
/ Boston, Mass. USA 17-19 November 1999)
The Electronic Business XML Initiative
(ebXML), a joint effort of UN/CEFACT and OASIS, attracted the participation of major
industry standards organizations and companies from around the world at its inaugural
meeting in San José, CA, USA. ebXML is an open, vendor-neutral initiative to establish a
global technical and semantic framework that will enable XML to be used in a consistent
manner for the exchange of electronic business data. More than 120 representatives from
organizations as varied as ACORD, Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12, Commerce One,
DataChannel, UN/EDIFACT, IBM, OAG, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Inc. and others joined
together to launch the ebXML initiative.
"A primary objective of ebXML is to
lower the barrier of entry to electronic business in order to facilitate trade,
particularly with respect to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and developing
nations," said Ray Walker, Chair of UN/CEFACTs Steering Group and Special
Advisor on Trade Processes and Electronic Business to the UK Department of Trade and
Industry, "The success of global electronic business is analogous to the success of
the telephone--unless everyone has simple and inexpensive access, it won't work".
"ebXML is an independent,
vendor-neutral forum through which anyone can contribute to a single, global XML framework
for electronic business," said Klaus-Dieter Naujok (Harbinger Corporation), chair of
the ebXML Initiative. "This open technical specification will enable XML to be used
in a consistent and uniform manner, contribute to a level playing field, and rapidly
increase responsible growth in electronic business".
"OASIS and UN/CEFACT have come
together on ebXML to minimize the fragmentation in XML specifications for industry that
might otherwise occur," said Robert S. Sutor (IBM), vice-chair of the ebXML
Initiative. "The scope and significance of ebXML is so far-reaching that many
standards organizations, vendors and users are already committed to working together to
realize its potential"
"This cross-industry initiative is
proof that the technology industry, often a hotbed of competition, can work together for
the benefit of the end consumer", said Bill Smith (Sun Microsystems), president
of the OASIS board of directors and director of the ebXML Initiative. "Through the
ebXML Initiative, OASIS and UN/CEFACT have entered a strong, important union whose impact
will be far-reaching and positive".
Directors of ebXML include Klaus-Dieter
Naujok and Ray Walker of UN/CEFACT and Robert S. Sutor and Bill Smith of OASIS. The
Advisory Board includes Jon Bosak of Sun Microsystems, co-author of the XML 1.0
specification, and is being expanded to include key industry players from around the
world. Laura Walker, executive director of OASIS, will serve as secretary of the board.
Project teams were identified at the
inaugural meeting and began work on the following:
- ebXML Requirements
- Business Process Methodology
- Technical Architecture
- Core Components
- Transport/Routing and Packaging
- Registry and Repository
- Technical Coordination & Support
- Marketing, Awareness & Education
ebXML project teams will teleconference
until the next face-to-face meeting, scheduled for 31 January-4 February 2000, in Orlando,
Florida. Subsequent meetings are scheduled for 8-12 May in Brussels, Belgium, 7-11 August
in the United States and 6-11 November in Tokyo, Japan.
"If a practical, easy and affordable
electronic commerce solution is critical to the success of your nation, organization, or
business, you should be involved in ebXML," said Laura Walker, executive director of
OASIS. "This collaboration by two of the worlds most influential organizations,
both of which are dedicated to vendor-independent trade facilitation, is a critical
element in enabling a truly accessible, global and interoperable infrastructure for
electronic business. ebXML will make a deeply meaningful, highly valuable contribution to
the future of the digital world. We encourage interested organizations to learn more about
the effort, including details on how to get involved, by visiting http://www.ebxml.org."
For more information: Carol Geyer, Program
Manager, OASIS, +(1 412) 963 1479,
<[email protected]>
or Rocío Cárdenas, UN/CEFACT secretariat,
+(41 22) 917 1178,<[email protected]>
Editors Notes
About ebXML
ebXML.org (www.ebXML.org) is an
International Initiative established by UN/CEFACT and OASIS with a mandate to undertake a
15-18 month program of work to research and identify the technical basis upon which the
global implementation of XML (Extensible Markup Language) can be standardized. The goal is
to provide an open technical specification to enable XML to be utilized in a consistent
and uniform manner for the exchange of electronic business data in
application-to-application, application-to-person and person-to-application environments.
About UN/CEFACT
UN/CEFACT (www.uncefact.org) is the United
Nations body whose mandate covers worldwide policy and technical development in the area
of trade facilitation and electronic business. Headquartered in Geneva-based United
Nations Economic Commission for Europe, it has developed and promoted many tools for the
facilitation of global business processes including UN/EDIFACT, the international EDI
standard. Its current work programme includes such topics as Simpl-edi and Object Oriented
EDI and it strongly supports the development and implementation of open, interoperable
global standards and specifications for electronic business.
About OASIS
OASIS (www.oasis-open.org) is a
non-profit, international consortium dedicated solely to product-independent data and
content interchange. Focusing on product interoperability, OASIS embraces the complete
spectrum of structured information standards including XML, SGML and CGM. OASIS operates
XML.org (www.xml.org), the first global XML industry portal featuring the XML.org Registry
and Repository that offers automated public access to XML schemas for electronic commerce,
business-to-business transactions, and tools and application interoperability. OASIS
sponsors include Adobe Systems, AND-USA, Arbortext, Bentley Systems, Boeing, Chrystal
Software, Commerce One, Corel, DataChannel, DMSi, Documentum, Dun & Bradstreet,
Enigma, Excelergy, Extricity Software, GCA, IBM, Inso, InterCAP, Interleaf, Interwoven,
ISOGEN, ITEDO, Keyfile, Larson Software, Microsoft, NextPage, NIST, Object Design, Oracle,
Reed Technology, Reuters, Sabre, Sequoia Software, SoftQuad, Software AG, STEP, Sun
Microsystems, Synthbank, System Development, Wavo, Xerox, XMLSolutions, XyEnterprise and
Zeh Graphics Systems.