CAP Ratified as OASIS Standard

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

Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) Ratified as OASIS Standard

Boston, MA, USA; 5 May 2004 -- The OASIS standards consortium today
announced that its members have approved the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP)
version 1.0 as an OASIS Standard, a status that signifies the highest level
of ratification. CAP enables the exchange of emergency alert and public
warning information over data networks and computer-controlled warning
systems. By limiting transport-specific nomenclature, CAP remains remains
fully compatible with existing public warning systems, including those
designed for multilingual and special-needs populations, as well as with XML
applications such as Web services. 

"The CAP OASIS Standard has been designed to allow a consistent warning
message to be communicated simultaneously over different systems, "
explained Allen Wyke, chair of the OASIS Emergency Management Technical
Committee. "By standardizing on a format, technology developers and vendors
in the emergency, incident, and business continuity fields will be able to
take a huge step forward in sharing this critical, and potentially life
saving, information."
 
CAP is also expected to reduce costs and operational complexity by helping
simplify the software interfaces needed to interact with the many sources
and dissemination systems involved in all-hazard warnings.

The new OASIS Standard addresses emergencies and incidents that apply to
both the private and public sectors. CAP has been implemented by U.S.
national and local agencies including the Department of Homeland Security,
the National Weather Service, the United States Geological Survey,
California Office of Emergency Services, and the Virginia Department of
Transportation as well as companies such as Blue292. CAP data elements have
been incorporated in the U.S. Department of Justice's "Global Justice XML
Data Model."

"DHS/FEMA is extremely proud of the role we have played in the establishment
of the CAP standard through our participation with OASIS," said Chip Hines,
program manager for Homeland Security's Disaster Management eGov Initiative.
"We are pleased that our initiative has been able to demonstrate that the
standard works across a variety of vendor products. We strongly support the
development of standards that will increase the efficiency and effectiveness
of our nation to prepare for and respond to all emergencies. We intend to
continue to use the OASIS process to further these goals."

"The implementation of CAP goes a long way toward making alert and warning
more accessible to local governments via a plug-and-play environment,"
commented Elizabeth F. Klute, Community Warning System Manager for the
Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff Emergency Services in California. 


About OASIS

OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards)
is a not-for-profit, international consortium that drives the development,
convergence, and adoption of e-business standards.  Members themselves set
the OASIS technical agenda, using a lightweight, open process expressly
designed to promote industry consensus and unite disparate efforts.  The
consortium produces more Web services standards than any other organization
along with standards for security, e-business, and standardization efforts
in the public sector and for application-specific markets. Founded in 1993,
OASIS has more than 3,000 participants representing over 600 organizations
and individual members in 100 countries. Approved OASIS Standards include
CAP, DocBook, DSML, ebXML, SAML, SPML, UDDI, WSRP, WSS, XACML, and XCBF.
http://www.oasis-open.org


More information:

OASIS Emergency Management Technical Committee
http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/emergency

Cover Pages: "XML and Emergency Management"
http://xml.coverpages.org/emergencyManagement.html#oasis


Press contact:

Carol Geyer
Director of Communications
OASIS
carol.geyer@oasis-open.org
+1.978.667.5115 x209