OASIS Enhances Support for Members in Europe

[Carol Geyer <carol.geyer@oasis-open.org>]

OASIS Enhances Support for Members in Europe

XML Interoperability Consortium Opens Office in the Netherlands and
Appoints Pim van der Eijk as European Representative

Amsterdam, 16 July 2001 -- OASIS, the XML interoperability consortium,
enhanced support for its growing membership in Europe by opening a new
office in the Netherlands, headed by Pim van der Eijk. As the OASIS
European Representative, van der Eijk will support and expand OASIS
membership in Europe by organizing activities and promoting involvement
in the technical work of the Consortium.

"OASIS already enjoys strong participation from the European community,"
noted van der Eijk. "OASIS sponsorship includes many of Europe’s largest
technology companies, such as EADS, Deutsche Post SAP and Software AG,
European innovators such as empolis, Itedo, Republica and StreamServe,
as well as Europe-based staff of international companies such as IBM,
Microsoft and Sun Microsystems. These members are actively involved in
advancing OASIS projects that include ebXML and XML-based specifications
for election and voter services and electronic business transactions."

According to van der Eijk, European organizations are drawn to OASIS
because the Consortium encourages open collaboration on interoperability
issues critical to European companies. The international focus of the
Consortium facilitates global participation. Members of each technical
committee specify which language they will use to conduct their work,
and most discussions are held via email or conference calls to
accommodate participants from multiple continents. When face-to-face
meetings are held, a technical committee chooses a location convenient
to its own members.

"Having an office in the Netherlands will enable the Consortium to
enhance the service our European members have enjoyed since OASIS was
founded," commented Laura Walker, executive director of OASIS. "With his
extensive background in XML, SGML and electronic business, Pim will be a
great asset to the growth of the Consortium."

Prior to joining OASIS, van der Eijk held technology positions at
Excelon, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and Digital Equipment Corporation. He
is an active participant in the Dutch SGML/XML User Group.

Pim van der Eijk can be reached via email at
pim.vandereijk@oasis-open.org.

About OASIS
OASIS (http://www.oasis-open.org) is the international, not-for-profit
consortium that advances electronic business by promoting open,
collaborative development of interoperability specifications. With the
United Nations, OASIS sponsors ebXML, a global framework for electronic
business data exchange. OASIS operates XML.ORG, the non-commercial
portal that delivers information on the use of XML in industry. The
XML.ORG Registry provides as an open community clearinghouse for
distributing and locating XML application schemas, vocabularies and
related documents. OASIS serves as the home for industry groups
interested in developing XML specifications. OASIS technical work
embraces conformance, security, business transactions, repositories and
other interoperability issues.

For more information:
Carol Geyer
Director of Communications
OASIS
carol.geyer@oasis-open.org
+1.941.284.0403