Open Applications Group Issues White Paper on Software Application Integration Standards

23 June 1995

The Open Applications Group has released a detailed White Paper of its activities and recommendations to date.

The Open Applications Group's goal is to develop and publish interface specification standards that address the real need for interoperability at the business process level. It is the intent of these specifications to enable software to be developed that facilitates the potential of customers to mix and match different vendor solutions, or their in-house developed solutions, to address their specific requirements.

Open Applications Group standards are complementary to interoperability work currently underway by standards organizations such as Microsoft, the Object Management Group (OMG), and the Open Group. The Open Applications Group is working with these organizations and others to ensure this complementary relationship continues.

The White Paper outlines the formation and objectives of three Open Applications Group "project" areas based on the real need for interoperability at the business process level and potential benefits for customers.

Project A: Outside the Enterprise
Focuses on the integration of enterprise systems and other enterprises, like enterprise accounting systems to bank systems.
 
Project B: Managing Within the Enterprise
Focuses on integration between enterprise systems.
 
Project C: Executing Within the Enterprise
Focuses on integration between enterprise systems and specialized products such as MRP to finite scheduling applications and accounting systems to budgeting applications.

Founding members of Open Applications Group, which formed in February 1995, are: American Software, The CODA Group, Dun & Bradstreet Software, J.D. Edwards & Co., Marcam Solutions, Oracle, PeopleSoft, SAP AG and Software 2000. These nine companies represent more than USD $2.4 billion in revenue. Paul Margolis, president and CEO of Marcam Solutions, is Open Applications Group chairman.

In addition to describing the project teams and their work, the 16-page White Paper outlines several key area of Open Applications Group current and future activities:

  • Software Integration, including working recommendations and scenarios for technical integration, application integration and business object integration.
  • Business Object Document (BOD), including working recommendations and scenarios for control area, business data area and a BOD prototype.
  • Technical Architecture, including working recommendations and scenarios of modularity, process mapping and reconciliation, data mapping and reconciliation, file synchronization, validation, transaction processing, etc.

Corporate and Associate Corporate membership in Open Applications Group is available to qualified enterprise applications software organizations. Open Applications Group also plans to issue specifications and license them to any interested party. To obtain more information on Open Applications Group, membership application procedures, fees, the issuing of specifications or a copy of the recently released White Paper, contact the Open Applications Group, 401 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611-4267; 312 644 6610; FAX: 312 321 6869.