OAGI selected for Automotive Manufacturers to Retailers XML Connection

[David Connelly <dconnelly@mindspring.com>]

THE OPEN APPLICATIONS GROUP SELECTED TO DEVELOP BUSINESS COLLABORATIONS AND
XML MESSAGES BASED ON OAGIS AND TECHNICAL INFRASTRUCTURE BASED ON ebXML FOR
THE AUTOMOTIVE RETAIL INDUSTRY.

July 9, 2001  (Atlanta, GA)--The Open Applications Group, Inc. (OAGI), the
largest publisher of XML-based business messages in the world, today
announced they have been selected by the Standards for Technology in
Automotive Retail (STAR) consortium as their development partner for their
next generation business language and data messaging architecture.  The two
organizations have formed a collaborative initiative to design XML
(Extensible Markup Language) based messages conforming to and extending the
OAGIS specification, the Open Applications Group’s library of specifications
for eBusiness and Application Integration.

The STAR/XML initiative will use the standard collaborations and messages
from the OAGIS specification and will also build new collaborations and
messages specifically for the STAR constituency.  In addition, OAGI
architects and technologists, working with domain experts from the auto
industry, will design a standardized infrastructure to streamline business
data flowing between auto dealerships, manufacturers and other auto
distribution “value chain” companies.

"This initiative builds on existing OAGIS work and enables immediate
interoperability with other B2B initiatives in the auto industry using
OAGIS, such as Covisint.” said David Connelly, OAGI's president and chief
executive officer.  "The project will also produce one of the first
production deployments of B2B applications based on ebXML technology.  OAGI
and its member companies, all leaders in e-Commerce, are proud to be able to
work with the auto industry to deploy a state of the art solution that will
materially reduce costs and increase agility in the auto industry”.

"STAR is the IT standards organization for the North American retail
automotive industry, and it is driving this project to ensure a common
solution for our industry's Web-based applications are developed quickly",
said Vic Zappia, Chair of STAR and Sr. System Analyst at American Suzuki
Motor Corporation. "Consulting with OAGI for the initial phase of this
project allows us to adopt proven XML standards' practices from other
industries with STAR as the driving force behind this project."

About the Open Applications Group

The Open Applications Group is a non-profit consortium focusing on best
practices and process-based XML content for e-Business and Application
Integration. It is the largest publishers of XML-based content for business
software interoperability in the world. Open Application Group, Inc. members
have over six years of extensive experience building this industry consensus
based framework for business software application interoperability and have
developed a repeatable process for quickly developing high-quality business
content and XML representations of that content.
For free downloadable copies of OAGIS Release 7.1, or to learn about other
OAGI industry activities and resources, visit the OAGI website at
www.openapplications.org, or you can contact the organization by e-mail at
info@openapplications.org.

About Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR)

The Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR) organization is the
Information Technology (IT) standards body for the retail automotive
industry. The goal of STAR is to use voluntary IT standards as a catalyst to
fulfill the business information needs of dealers and manufacturers, thus
reducing the time and effort previously required supporting this activity.

Collectively, the group develops industry standards and researches emerging
technologies for the benefit of its members. Its mission is to establish
voluntary industry standards for the exchange, management and integration of
information that support the management, delivery and evaluation of retail
automobile products and services. Specifically, the group is designed to
create flexible, cost effective standards and methodologies for
interoperability between IT systems.
Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, STAR is a not-for-profit volunteer
organization and its members include Dealers, Manufacturers and Retail
System Providers (RSPs). As members, they are interested in developing,
promoting, and administering voluntary IT standards in the retail automotive
industry and improving the effectiveness, timeliness and competitiveness of
the IT solutions needed within the retail automotive industry. To learn more
about STAR or membership, visit the STAR web site at www.STARstandard.org
or you can contact the organization by e-mail at info@starstandard.org