Open Standards Advocates Gather at OASIS Symposium to Explore Advances for eBusiness and eGovernment

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

Open Standards Advocates Gather to Explore Advances for eBusiness and
eGovernment

OASIS Symposium Features Keynote by IBM VP, Bob Sutor, and Workshops on
OpenDocument and WS-BPEL

Boston, MA, USA; 1 March 2007 - Open standards supporters from around the world
are expected to gather in San Diego, California, 15-17 April 2007, for the
fourth annual OASIS Symposium. Centered on the theme, "eBusiness and Open
Standards: Understanding the Facts, Fiction, and Future," sessions will examine
SOA, identity management, Web services, business process, enterprise content,
and information management. Presentations on OpenDocument, WS-BPEL, SAML, DITA,
ebXML and other specifications will be featured.

"We're not living in the standards world of the 70s, 80s, or 90s, and customers
know it. They're demanding real open standards and not those where 'open' was
inserted by the marketing team," said Robert Sutor, Ph.D., vice president of
standards and open source at IBM. In the Symposium's keynote address, Dr. Sutor
will explore the current climate for standards, how we got here, and where
current actions are leading us.

The OASIS Symposium will feature a Management Track of sessions on the latest
technologies, applications, and services from a business perspective. A
Technical Track, geared at providing IT professionals with the most up-to-date
processes, tools and techniques for practical applications and implementations,
will also be offered. The event is open to the public, and members as well as
non-members of OASIS are invited to participate.

Burton Group vice president and research director, Anne Thomas Manes, will lead
the closing panel, "Five Years of Web Services & SOA: You Are Here." Executives
from BEA Systems, EDS, IBM, SAP, and Sun Microsystems will share and debate
their perspectives on the successes and failures experienced  in SOA as well as
the challenges and promises that remain. 

"OASIS is on the verge of delivering a number of newly ratified standards that
will propel Web services to a new level of capability," said Manes. "I'm
looking forward to leading a lively discussion on the current state of Web
services and SOA, and what we can expect for the future."

A table-top exhibition showcasing standards-compliant products from the event's
Foundational Sponsors, BEA, EDS, IBM, SAP and Sun Microsystems, will be
featured. Additional sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities are available.


OpenDocument Workshop

Hosted by the OASIS ODF Adoption Committee, this special workshop will focus on
the 'implementability' of using applications that comply with the OpenDocument
format OASIS Standard (ISO/IEC 26300). Leaders from Europe and the US will
discuss the latest advances in OpenDocument adoption, accessibility, and
programmability.


WS-BPEL Workshop

The Web Services Business Process Execution Language (WS-BPEL) is central for
defining SOA business processes. This workshop will clarify the business value
that WS-BPEL offers, examine common scenarios in which the specification should
be applied, and explore usage of advanced constructs. 

Attendance at either half-day workshop is free with Symposium registration and
also available separately. 


For more information:
http://www.oasis-open.org/events/symposium/2007/ 


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
open standards for Web services, security, e-business, and standardization
efforts in the public sector and for application-specific markets. Founded in
1993, OASIS has more than 5,000 participants representing over 600
organizations and individual members in 100 countries.
http://www.oasis-open.org 

Press contact:
Carol Geyer
OASIS Director of Communications
carol.geyer@oasis-open.org
+1.978.667.5115 x209 (office)
+1.941.284.0403 (mobile)