Draft Version 2:

29 February 2000

ebXML Initiative™ to Deliver Its Initial XML Interoperability Specifications in May 2000

Orlando, FL, USA February 2000

The ebXML Initiative™ to Create a Single Global XML Solution, a joint effort of the United Nation/CEFACT and OASIS, continues to attract the participation of major industry standards organizations and companies from around the world at its second working meeting in Orlando, FL, USA.

“This may very well prove to be a major event of the new millennium, revolutionizing how business transactions are tracked, effecting worldwide impacts, removing paper from the process, and by empowering people to create whole new work models,” said David RR Webber, North American Chair of the XML/edi Group.

The Orlando meeting of over 125 on-site participants and extending to nearly 500 by virtual participants included representatives from IBM, Sun Microsystems, CommerceOne, government agencies, and national and international standards organizations (get number of countries, number of organizations represented, etc. from Laura Walker at OASIS). It is organized into eight project teams that are developing the technical specifications for the global, common ebXML™ framework.

Each project team committed to an aggressive schedule to deliver the components of the ebXML™ framework. Deliverables between the Orlando meeting and the next meeting to be held in Brussels include the following:

�        A draft conceptual architecture

�        ebXML Requirements (draft document for ebXML comments scheduled for review/comment by March 7^th)

�        Other…….(we need to extract from each project team’s report a high-level statement of deliverables for Brussels, i.e., the Requirements team is hard at work getting the requirements document posted to the full ebXML listserv for review and comment by 6 March so it can be approved at Brussels.)

The project teams are working aggressively on key deliverables during the interim between the Orlando meeting and the next meeting in Brussels May 8-12. This work will be done via extensive listserv discussions and regular team teleconferences so that several components of the technical specifications for the ebXML framework can be presented to the plenary

The work of the ebXML project teams is carried out via extensive listserv discussions and regular teleconferences between each face-to-face meeting, The next meeting is scheduled for 8-12 May 2000, in Brussels, Belgium. Subsequent meetings are scheduled for 7-11 August in the United States and 6-11 November in Tokyo, Japan. Details for the Brussels meeting are now available at the ebXML web site. Participation is open to anyone wishing to contribute to this critical and exciting initiative. Interested organizations and individuals can learn more about the effort, including details on how to get involved, by visiting http://www.ebxml.org."

Standard boilerplate stuff follows……

About ebXML
ebXML (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, 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 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 sponsors include Adobe Systems, Aerospatiale, AND-USA, Arbortext, Bentley Systems, Boeing, Chrystal Software, Cohesia, Commerce One, CommerceNet, Corel, DataChannel, DMSi, Documentum, Dun & Bradstreet, eCredit.com,Enigma, Excelergy, Extricity Software, GCA, IBM, InformIT, Informix, InterCAP, Interleaf, Interwoven, ISOGEN, ITEDO, JetForm, Keyfile, Larson Software, Microsoft, NextPage, NII Enterprise Promotion Association, NIST, Object Design, Object Management Group (OMG), Open Applications Group, Oracle, ProNet Technology Partners, Reed Technology, Reuters, Sabre, Sequoia Software, SoftQuad, Software AG, STEP, Sun Microsystems, Synthbank, System Development, Wavo, Xerox, XMLSolutions and XyEnterprise.

For More Information Contact:

Carol Geyer, 
Program Manager, OASIS, 
+1.412.963.1479, 
[email protected] 

or 

Hans Hansell, 
Head UN/CEFACT Secretariat, 
+41 22 917 2457 
[email protected]