OASIS, UN/CEFACT To Host ebXML Conference

OASIS and the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) Thursday unveiled a new conference intended to put a spotlight on the role of ebXML in a growing range of industries and in Web services.

ebXML is a modular suite of specifications that give businesses a standard method to exchange business messages, conduct trading relationships, communicate data in common terms and define and register business processes.

OASIS, an international standards consortium that operates out of Boston, Mass., and UN/CEFACT will host the new conference, “Implementing ebXML,” at the International Digital Enterprise Alliance’s (IDEAlliance) XML 2002 show in Barcelona, Spain on May 23.

OASIS said the one-day conference is expected to draw developers and business managers from around the world interested in implementing ebXML. The conference will offer technical guidance on adopting the standards, and will also focus on the general business benefits of managing electronic commerce through ebXML.

Isidro Laso of the European Commission, and Ray Walker, special advisor on Trade Processes and Electronic Business for the United Kingdom Department of Trade and Industry, will make keynote presentations. The program will also include updates from ebXML users in the finance, insurance, retail sales, e-commerce and automotive industries. Representatives of the UN, EAN International, Uniform Code Council (UCC), Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR), Pan Asian e-Commerce Alliance, Sun Microsystems, Microsoft, IONA, Cyclone Commerce, Sybase, Sterling Commerce, XML Global and others will also be present.

“Adoption of ebXML and concurrent realization of business benefits has been growing — especially in Europe — since the completion of the first phase of ebXML last May, said Simon Nicholson of Sun Microsystems, chair of the UN/CEFACT-OASIS Joint Coordination Committee for ebXML and chair of “Implementing ebXML.” “The breadth and quantity of industry groups, governments, vendors and major companies that are coming together to share their experiences at this conference is a testament to the momentum that’s building in the marketplace.”