ebXML's 1999 vision of a complete stack of XML specifications for
reliable transactional e-business was prophetic. We said that e-commerce
standards should be open, simple, modular, interoperable and
vendor-neutral. Those goals have proven very relevant in 2004. Today,
most of the ebXML layers are testable, implemented reality. Many other
standards and proprietary efforts have validated the work -- sometimes by
extending it, and sometimes as offshoots or competition, often by ebXML
alumni.
Strictly speaking, ebXML is not an "open source" work, because that
phrase refers to a specific type of licensing arrangement. But in
progress
and tone, ebXML shares some aspects of the best open source projects:
-- a broad community of volunteer technical contributors,
-- convergence by voluntary loose cohesion among layers,
-- no dependence on a central vendor or product, and
-- parallel, independent nodes of users all over the globe.
We are lucky to work with many extraordinary experts in the ebXML
community. There are literally too many to mention. Personally, I'm
particularly grateful to Klaus Naujok and Simon Nicholson, who preceded me
in chairing the project's (very) loosely-coupled management. With each
passing year, it seems we are more distributed and decentralized. Yet we
still enjoy a continual stream of new ebXML users in industry, government
and academia. At OASIS, where we continue to host several of the
project's
standards, we look forward to its continued success.
At the recent XML2003 conference in Philadelphia, OASIS sponsored
several successful ebXML interoperability demonstrations. But I was
surprised to hear spontaneous discussions of ebXML in a dozen other
sessions as well. ebXML seems to be on a "stealth" growth curve, reaching
critical mass by quiet aggregation of adopters instead of marketing-driven
demand.
I am proud of our continuing association with ebXML, and very
grateful
to the large community of volunteers and experts who have created and
sustained it. Thank you for your efforts, and best wishes to all for a
happy, safe and successful new year.
~ James Bryce Clark
~ Manager Tech Stds Dev, OASIS
~ +1 978 667 5115 x 203 central office
~ +1 310 293 6739 direct
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