San Jose, 2 August 2000-The United Nations/CEFACT and OASIS, sponsors of the Electronic Business XML Initiative (ebXML), announced plans to demonstrate the first phase of ebXML at the group's upcoming meeting in San Jose, California 7-11 August 2000. Working together, ebXML participants including Fujitsu, Netfish Technologies, Sun Microsystems, Viquity, Vitria and webMethods will simulate a dynamic trading network based on the ebXML Transport, Routing and Packaging Specification (publicly available on http://www.ebxml.org). With each vendor assuming the role of a trading partner, the demo will highlight the applicability of ebXML in three typical models of B2B communication--point-to-point, hub-and-spoke and federated.

"This is a big step forward in demonstrating to the world how ebXML will facilitate global trade," said Klaus-Dieter Naujok of NextERA Interactive, chair of ebXML and member of the UN/CEFACT Steering Committee. "It shows without a doubt that critical aspects of ebXML are useable today."

Robert S. Sutor, Ph.D. of IBM, Vice Chair of ebXML and Chair of the OASIS Board of Directors, agreed, "We're not just generating solutions on paper-this cross-vendor effort proves that ebXML is based in reality and has the support of the industry. In addition to the companies involved in this proof-of-concept demonstration, we expect more than 130 organizations to be represented in San Jose."

As part of the ebXML transport demonstration, trading partners will initiate and respond to RosettaNet "Manage Purchase Order"

(PIP3A4) business processes, dynamically creating scenarios from a variety of industries using different payload types (e.g., OTA, GCI, etc.).

"We chose RosettaNet for this demo because it is well defined and widely used," explained Nick Kassem of Sun Microsystems, ebXML Proof-of-Concept Project Team Leader. "In developing ebXML, we appreciate the reality that there are legacy infrastructures and business processes that must be taken into account. We're therefore designing the specifications so that people can support ebXML without abandoning existing investments." Kassem added that future demonstration scenarios will feature processes and messages from other standards and industries.

The ebXML meeting in San Jose is being sponsored by Boeing, CommerceOne, General Motors, IBM, Muzmo Communication and Sun Microsystems. Attendance is open to the public; registration information can be found on http://ebxml.org.

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.

AboutOASIS
OASIS (http://www.oasis-open.org) is the world's largest independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the standardization of XML applications. OASIS sponsors include Adobe Systems, Aerospatiale, AND Data Solutions, Arbortext, B-Bop Associates, BEA Systems, Boeing, Bowstreet, Bridge, BroadVision, Chrystal Software, Cohesia, Commerce One, Corel, DataChannel, Dataloom, DMSi, Documentum, Dun & Bradstreet, eCredit.com, Enigma, eXcelon, Extensibility, Extricity Software, First Call, IBM, InformIT, Informix, InterCAP, Interwoven, ISOGEN, ITEDO, JetForm, Keyfile, Logistics Management Institute, Mercator Software, Microsoft, NextPage, NII Enterprise Promotion Association, Nimble Technology, NIST, Oracle Corporation, Pick Systems, ProNet Technology, "Reuters, Sabre, SAP, Sequoia Software, SoftQuad, Software AG, STEP, StreamServe, Sun Microsystems, Synth-Bank, Visa, Wavo, Webb Interactive Services, webMethods, Whitehill Technologies, Xerox, XMLSolutions and XyEnterprise.

For more information:

Carol Geyer
Media Relations Consultant
OASIS
carol.geyer@oasis-open.org
+1.941.926.2322

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