ebXML Technical Architecture Specification Approved

[Carol Geyer <carol.geyer@oasis-open.org>]

ebXML Technical Architecture Specification Approved

Record Numbers of Organizations Convene in Vancouver as ebXML Nears
Completion

Boston, MA, USA, Geneva, Switzerland; February 27, 2001—Organizations
from around the world came together in Vancouver, Canada to
overwhelmingly approve the ebXML Technical Architecture Specification.
Serving as a roadmap to ebXML, the Technical Architecture Specification
provides the foundation for all other ebXML specifications. This
announcement from the UN/CEFACT and OASIS marks the deliverable stage of
ebXML, as the initiative nears its goal of delivering a complete suite
of specifications in May 2001.

“Interest in ebXML continues to build at a phenomenal rate,” said Robert
S. Sutor, Ph.D., of IBM, vice chair of ebXML and member of the OASIS
Board of Directors. “The ebXML Technical Architecture Specification
gives implementers a clear understanding of the entire initiative and
how the various ebXML specifications relate to one another.”

The ebXML Technical Architecture Specification defines the
relationships, interactions and basic functionality of ebXML
specifications including those involving core components, business
processes, registry & repository, messaging services, trading partner
agreements and security.  In addition, the Technical Architecture
Specification provides an ebXML use case scenario and conformance
guidelines.

“In developing this specification, we concentrated on translating
business needs into a functional specification covering all aspects of
the ebXML initiative,” said Anders Grangard of EDI France, leader of the
ebXML Technical Architecture Project Team. “We were careful to balance
our definition of the ebXML architecture with the ongoing work of the
other project teams.”

More than 350 participants from Asia, Australia, Europe and North
America approved the ebXML Technical Architecture Specification. The
group, which gathered in Vancouver to advance the initiative, remains
open to all interested organizations and individuals.

“We congratulate the ebXML Technical Architecture Project Team for being
able to deliver this important ebXML component ahead of schedule,”
stated Klaus-Dieter Naujok of Netfish Technologies, chair of ebXML and
member of the UN/CEFACT Steering Group. “They met the dual challenge to
remain consistent with the ebXML Requirements document and to develop
the Technical Architecture in parallel with the ongoing work of the
other ebXML project teams.”

Developers and all interested parties are encouraged to review the ebXML
Technical Architecture Specification on
http://www.ebxml.org/specdrafts/approved_specs.htm.

About ebXML
ebXML (www.ebXML.org) is an International Initiative established by
UN/CEFACT and OASIS in late 1999 with a mandate to undertake an 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 of ebXML is to facilitate open trade between
organizations regardless of size by enabling XML to be used in a
consistent manner to exchange electronic business data.

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, 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 (http://www.oasis-open.org) is the international, not-for-profit
consortium that advances electronic business by promoting open,
collaborative development of interoperability specifications. OASIS
serves as the home for industry groups interested in developing XML
specifications. OASIS sponsors include Adobe Systems, Access360,
Aerospatiale, AND Data Solutions, Arbortext, Auto-trol, Aventail,
Baltimore Technologies, B-Bop Associates, BEA Systems, Bentley Systems,
Boeing, Bowstreet, Bridge, Chrystal Software, Cohesia, Commerce One,
Critical Path, DataChannel, Dataloom, Defense Information Services
Agency, Deutsche Post AG, Documentum, EADS Airbus, eCredit.com, empolis,
Enigma, Excelergy, eXcelon, Extensibility, Extricity, First Call,
Hewlett-Packard, IBM, icomXpress, Informix, Infoteria, Innodata,
Interwoven, IPNet Solutions, ISOGEN, ITEDO, Jamcracker, JetForm,
Logistics Management Institute, Mediaplex, Mercator Software,
Micrografx, Microsoft, Netegrity, Netfish, Netscape/AOL, NextPage, NII
Enterprise Promotion Association, Nimble Technology, NIST, ObjectSpace,
Pick Systems, Pearson Education, Planet 7 Technologies, Popkin Software,
ProNet Technology, Reuters, Sabre, SAP, Securant Technologies, Sequoia
Software, SilverStream Software, SoftQuad, Software AG, Sterling
Commerce, StreamServe, Sun Microsystems, Tamalpais Group, Thomas
Technology Solutions, TIBCO, Virtual Access Networks, Visa, Wavo,
webMethods, Whitehill Technologies, Xerox, XML Global, XMLSolutions and
XyEnterprise.

For more information:
Carol Geyer
Director of Communications
OASIS
carol.geyer@oasis-open.org
+1.941.284.0403