OASIS Forms Relationship with Open Applications Group, Inc.

Boston, MA, September 21, 1999 - OASIS, the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards, today announced that it has formed a strategic relationship with the Open Applications Group, Inc. (OAGI). As part of the agreement, OASIS will make the OAGi XML Business Object Documents available on XML.org, the open, vendor-neutral industry portal hosted by OASIS. Further, the two organizations have agreed to exchange sponsor-level memberships, enabling each to contribute to the other's technical work.

"We are excited about the opportunity to work more closely with the OAGI," observed Laura Walker, executive director of OASIS. "As Sponsor members of OASIS, the OAGi will bring a valuable perspective to our XML interoperability work. We are pleased to provide public access via XML.org to the Open Applications Group Integration Specification."

The Open Applications Group Integration Specification (OAGIS) is a model for business software application component interoperability. OAGIS defines a set of components, processes and interfaces for integrating many key enterprise business applications, including financials, manufacturing, human resources, supply chain and logistics both inside and outside the enterprise. The content of OAGIS has been made machine readable in the form of XML Document Type Definitions (DTDs) for all currently defined OAGi Business Object Documents. It is one of the largest collections of standardized XML DTDs in support of ERP applications in existence.

"The OAGi sees the enormous potential of XML for integrating business software, but there is a corollary need for industry wide distribution of XML schemas and DTDs," said David Connelly, president of the OAGI. "The OASIS XML.org focus on building a worldwide infrastructure for distributing XML schema and DTDs based on an open, vendor neutral platform addresses a very real need--that when satisfied will facilitate the coalescing of industry around standards-based XML implementations."

The OAGi membership is composed of many of the most prominent business software vendors, EAI vendors, and end-user associated organizations in the world, including: Agile Software, American Software, AT&T Wireless, Bluestone, Candle, Compaq, Component Software, Computer Associates, CrossWorlds Software, DATEV, Extricity Software, Ford, Fortress Technologies, GloTech Solutions, Great Plains, HK Systems, Inc., I2, IBM, Indus, Integrated Systems & Services Group, J.D. Edwards, Lockheed Martin, Lucent Technologies, Marcam, Microsoft, NEC, Netfish Technologies, ObTech, OnDisplay, Oracle, PCS Inc., PeopleSoft, PricewaterhouseCoopers, PSDI, QAD, Requisite Technology, Robocom Systems, SAP, Teklogix, Trilogy, TSI, USData, Vitria, and webMethods.

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