ebXML APPROVED

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

ebXML Approved

UN/CEFACT and OASIS Deliver on 18-Month Initiative for Electronic
Business Framework

Geneva, Switzerland and Boston, MA, USA; 14 May 2001 -- UN/CEFACT and
OASIS today announced that participants from around the world approved
ebXML specifications at a meeting in Vienna, Austria on 11 May 2001.
ebXML, which began as an 18-month initiative sponsored by UN/CEFACT and
OASIS, is a modular suite of specifications that enables enterprises of
any size and in any geographical location to conduct business over the
Internet. Using ebXML, companies now have a standard method to exchange
business messages, conduct trading relationships, communicate data in
common terms and define and register business processes.

“The level of involvement and cooperation between industry groups,
vendors and users that has been demonstrated in the ebXML initiative is
unprecedented,” said Klaus-Dieter Naujok of IONA, chair of ebXML and
member of the UN/CEFACT Steering Committee. “We applaud the work of all
the organizations around the world who have collaborated on the
development of ebXML.”

ebXML specifications and technical reports are available at no charge on
http://www.ebxml.org. Approved specifications include ebXML Technical
Architecture, Business Process Specification Schema, Registry
Information Model, Registry Services, ebXML Requirements, Message
Service and Collaboration-Protocol Profile and Agreement. Accepted ebXML
technical reports include: Business Process and Business Information
Analysis Overview, Business Process Analysis Worksheets & Guidelines,
E-Commerce Patterns, Catalog of Common Business Processes, Core
Component Overview, Core Component Discovery and Analysis, Context and
Re-Usability of Core Components, Guide to the Core Components
Dictionary, Naming Convention for Core Components, Document Assembly and
Context Rules, Catalogue of Context Drivers, Core Component Dictionary,
Core Component Structure and Technical Architecture Risk Assessment.

“ebXML implementations are already being announced, and we expect the
rate of deployment to accelerate quickly,” said Patrick Gannon, chair of
the OASIS Board of Directors. Mr. Gannon pointed to recent announcements
of ebXML integration and support from industry groups that represent a
significant variety of user communities. RosettaNet, a consortium of
more than 400 companies in information technology, electronic components
and semiconductor manufacturing, plans to integrate support for the
ebXML Messaging Services Specification in future releases of
RosettaNet's Implementation Framework (RNIF). The Global Commerce
Initiative, which represents manufacturers and retailers of consumer
goods, chose to base their new Internet protocol standard for trading
exchanges and B2B communications on ebXML. Other industry organizations,
such as the Automotive Industry Action Group, Health Level Seven, Open
Applications Group, Open Travel Alliance, SWIFT and formal international
and North American EDI standards bodies, have also been active
participants in the ebXML initiative.

Adoption, implementation and maintenance of the ebXML specifications
will be conducted by UN/CEFACT and OASIS under the auspices of a
Memorandum of Understanding, which was signed by the two organizations
in Vienna. Coordination of this work will be achieved through a joint
UN/CEFACT and OASIS management committee.


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
sponsors include Accenture, Access360, Adobe Systems, AND Data
Solutions, Arbortext, Auto-trol, Aventail, Baltimore Technologies, B-Bop
Associates, BEA Systems, Bentley Systems, Boeing Commercial Airplanes,
Bowstreet, Business Logic Corporation, Chrystal Software, Cincom
Systems, Cohesia, Commerce One, Critical Path, CrossLogix, DataChannel,
Dataloom, Deutsche Post AG, Documentum, EADS Airbus, election.com,
empolis, Engage, Enigma, Excelergy, eXcelon, Extricity Software, First
Call Corporation, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Informix, Infoteria, Innodata,
Intel, Interwoven, IPNet Solutions, ITEDO Software, Ivis Group,
Jamcracker, Logistics Management Institute, Mediaplex, Mercator
Software, Microsoft, Netegrity, NetFish Technologies, Netscape/AOL,
NextPage, NII Enterprise Promotion Association, Nimble Technology, NIST,
Novell, ObjectSpace, Oblix, OpenNetwork Technologies, Pearson Education,
Planet 7 Technologies, Popkin Software, Reuters Limited, SAA
Consultants, Sabre, SAP, SeeBeyond, Sequoia Software, Silverstream
Software, SoftQuad Software, Software AG, Sterling Commerce,
StreamServe, Sun Microsystems, Synth-Bank, Tata Consultancy Services,
The Tamalpais Group, Thomas Technology Solution, Tibco, US Defense
Information Systems Agency, Virtual Access Networks, Visa International,
Wavo, webMethods, Whitehill Technologies, Xerox, XML Global,
XMLSolutions and Xyvision Enterprise Solutions.


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