AND makes Global Address XML Definition available to OASIS

[Vincent Buller <vincent@and.nl>]

Press release

AND makes Global Address XML Definition available to OASIS

Rotterdam, December 1, 2000

AND Data Solutions has made its global address XML definition available to
the OASIS Customer Information Quality (CIQ) Technical Committee. With this
global address definition AND wishes to contribute to the development of
open world standards for address management.

AND Data Solutions has developed the XML data structure to standardize on
the worldwide presentation of addresses. The global address structure is now
available for 36 countries, which will grow to 85 individual countries on
short notice.

OASIS, the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information
Standards, is a non-profit, international consortium that creates
interoperable industry specifications based on public standards such as XML
and SGML, as well as others that are related to structured information
processing.

Customer data, with address information as a key component, forms the
foundation to build effective customer relationships. OASIS has therefore
recently set up the CIQ Technical Committee, dedicated to work on cross
industry XML standards for customer profile management and exchange. The
committee’s work will help improve information system interoperability, and
enable consistent communication and handling of customer information by
trading partners.

Market research indicates that, driven by the use of the Internet, the
current enthusiasm for customer relationship management and the
proliferation in the number of business using call centers, the amount of
information generated shows no sign of slowing down. The research shows that
three quarters of respondents expect their address databases to grow in
terms of records in the next year, some expecting increases of up to 300 per
cent.

Yet this data - supplied through multi-channel sources such as the Internet,
telephone, WAP phones and even digital and interactive TV - can be
unreliable. Many companies are capturing this information from e-business
activities where customers are responsible for inputting their own details.

This research has shown an urgent need for good quality address products,
for which AND can provide online address verification and completion
services based on its worldwide address data. Address Data consists of
datasets including postcodes, cities, streets and locations covering more
than 80 countries across the world.

The growing AND Global Address Data customer base includes Sony, Philips,
Kodak, Compaq, Xerox, Gateway 2000 and Client Logic.

Making the XML data structure available for the OASIS platform is key in AND
’s strategy to improve address management services for the Internet and
Mobile environment.


- Ends -

AND Data Solutions
AND Data Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of AND International
Publishers N.V. -an international high-tech publisher with its head office
in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and listed on the Amsterdam Exchanges. AND
Data Solutions specializes in the collection, processing and marketing of
world-wide address, flight and road data and in the development of software
solutions to leverage this data. AND Data Solutions' data sets, components
and applications are widely used by companies across a diverse range of
industries to enrich their customer relationship management, enterprise
resource planning, sales force automation, logistics and e-business
activities, while a growing portfolio of route, flight, location and
proximity services is being developed for web and mobile applications. For
more information visit the company's website at www.and.com.
AND Data Solutions is sponsor member of OASIS, the organization for the
Advancement of Structured Information Standards. AND co-chairs the OASIS CIQ
Technical Committee.

For further information please contact:
Catherine Miller
AND Data Solutions
Tel: +44 (0) 1865 200 800
E-mail: c.miller@andtech.co.uk