New Leadership Provides Direction for XML Market

September 1, 1998; San Francisco, CA, USA 
OASIS, the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards, announced the election of a new board of directors led by Simon Nicholson (Chrystal Software) as chairperson and Carla Corkern (ISOGEN) as president. Bill Smith (Sun Microsystems) serves as vice president and Karl Best (Adobe Systems) as chief strategy officer. Norbert Mikula (DataChannel), Carol Curry (Poet Software) and Jonathan Parsons (Xyvision) head up the technical, marketing and education tracks respectively.

"OASIS is honored and excited to have representatives from the leading XML and SGML companies as directors of the consortium. Their fresh perspective and industry experience will contribute greatly to the future of OASIS," says Robin Tomlin, executive director of the consortium. 

"The priorities of the new board will be to shape the standards for structured information - especially XML - and to grow the market through education and product interoperability," comments Simon Nicholson, newly elected OASIS chairperson. "We will also work to establish projects and programs which return value to all OASIS members."

Some of the specific issues OASIS will be addressing on a technical front are XML conformance, web accessibility and STEP/SGML harmonization. The consortium will be developing the OASIS XML Repository which will serve as an authoritative online library and archive containing machine-readable copies of standards-based computing resources applicable to structured information. OASIS plans to host upcoming XML seminars in New York and Europe. They also announced plans to develop and publish case studies of practical business applications for XML, SGML and CGM.

OASIS (http://www.oasis-open.org) is a non-profit, international consortium dedicated solely to product-independent data and content interchange. Focusing on product interoperability, conformance and market awareness, OASIS embraces the complete spectrum of structured information standards including XML, SGML and HTML. Members of the consortium include users and suppliers of products and services that support these structured information standards.

OASIS sponsors include Adobe Systems, AND-USA, ArborText, Chrystal Software, Database Publishing Systems, DataChannel, Folio, Graphic Communications Association, Inso, Interleaf, ISOGEN, Poet Software, SoftQuad, Software AG, Sörman Information, STEP, Sun Microsystems, Texcel, Thomson, Xyvision and the Yuri Rubinsky Insight Foundation. OASIS contributors include ActiveSystems, AIS/Berger Levrault, CITEC International, Crane Softwrights, Data Conversion Laboratory, Document Management Solutions Inc, Electronic Data Foundry, Enigma, Fuji Xerox Information Systems, Inera, Information Architects, Inc, Infrastructures for Information, InfoObjects, Inc, Jouve Software, Inc, L. A. Burman Associates, Lonergan Digital SARL, Matthew Bender & Company, Microstar Software, Mulberry Technologies, Multilingual Technologies, Neville & Associates, Noldor Technology, NPC Digital Services, Progressive Information Technologies, ProText, RivCom, Solvera Information Services, Soph-Ware Associates, Structured Information Consulting, Synex Information AB, Synth-Bank, Tata Infotech, TechnoTeacher, TechSight Engineering Services, TetraSys, Tokyo Electron America, Uniscope, VEO Systems and XML Xperts.

For more information:

Carol Geyer
OASIS

+1.412.963.1479
geyer@oasis-open.org

[OASIS copy of the press release, 1998-08-31.]