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Member Newsletter
February 2004
Welcome to a new edition of The Open Group Member Newsletter!
We hope it will be a valuable resource for our members, and
a tool as useful as The Open Group website.
Please let us know if there is anything you would like to
see in this newsletter, or on our website, by contacting us
at memnews@opengroup.org.
We look forward to hearing your feedback.
In This Issue:
CEO Corner with Allen Brown
In the last days of 2003, the world was shaken by two earthquakes
with very similar magnitudes on the Richter Scale, but with
very different results.
On December 22, 2003, two people were killed when an earthquake
measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale shook the California town
of Paso Robles, demolishing a historic building. It was reported
as being quite noticeable in Santa Barbara: buildings swayed
for a good thirty seconds, and there were localized power
failures for a few hours.
On December 26, 2003, an earthquake measuring 6.6 to 6.7 on
the Richter Scale destroyed most of the ancient historic city
of Bam in southeastern Iran, killing more than 30,000 people,
injuring tens of thousands, and leaving many more homeless
as the buildings made of mud bricks collapsed. To make matters
worse, the two main hospitals also collapsed - killing or
wounding most of the staff and patients.
A clipping from a UNICEF report, focusing on the effect of
the Bam earthquake on children's education, gives a much greater
perspective to the direct results of the earthquake and also
the challenges of restoring normal life. "Amongst the
many challenges faced by education authorities are difficulties
in finding teachers able to cope with the return to the classroom,
the destruction of 90 percent of school buildings, and the
dispersal of children into temporary camps. One third of Bam's
teachers were killed in the earthquake, along with up to 10,000
school children, according to official figures. Those that
remain are suffering from stress and psychosocial trauma,
in addition to the practical difficulties of caring for families."
The contrast between the standards employed for building works
in the two countries could not be illustrated more clearly.
But this is not only a story about standards. The ability
of buildings in California to withstand earthquakes of this
scale is also testament to the verification of conformance
to the standards. Because without strict enforcement of the
standards, it is always possible that corners will be cut
with potentially devastating consequences.
In this example, the standards and their verification are
a matter of legislation. When we look to our own industry
we are, so far, fortunate that similar legislation does not
yet exist. Yet the consequences of failure are becoming ever
more serious. As boundaries become increasingly permeable,
so the risks and potential consequences increase exponentially.
At first glance we tend to think of the risks as being related
to security issues alone and, while these represent a significant
threat, they are not the only cause for concern. The reality
is that in addition to security, we have to focus on all of
the "-ilities" - attributes such as manageability,
interoperability, portability, usability and others, which
come under the wonderfully descriptive term of "non-functional
attributes".
If we think about how a city develops we can envision the
many different layers involved. To oversimplify it for illustration
purposes, there is the physical infrastructure layer that
includes the utilities (water, gas, and electricity), transportation
and communication. There is the storage layer (houses, schools,
libraries, shops, offices, and stations), which have many
components and sub-assemblies. The applications layer that
comprises classes of applications that sub-divide into more
and more granular levels of detail: there is the entertainment
class of applications that includes home entertainment and
television which, in turn, includes programs; there is the
travel class that includes personal transportation, which
includes the car which, in turn, includes re-fuelling. And
then there is the user interface: the TV remote; the fuel
filler. At every level there are standards and verification
that those standards are being adhered to, for security (including
safety), manageability, interoperability, portability and
usability.
We can also envision that there are few green field sites:
the planner often starts with a legacy, which cannot simply
be removed. The historic building demolished by the earthquake
in Paso Robles is an example. So they start with an architectural
framework and a set of standards and regulations that all
new implementations need to comply with and which provide
guidance for integration with the legacy.
Our world is very similar, although in its infancy by comparison.
Enterprise Architecture is only now emerging as a profession.
That there is a strong need for it is evidenced by the volume
of downloads of TOGAF Architecture Development Method (ADM)
and by the demand for TOGAF training and certification. Until
now architecture development had been the province of the
few - the high priests in the cathedral, if you will. But
as one delegate at our members meeting and conference in San
Diego remarked, "Proprietary architecture will go the
way of proprietary software". Architects, certified as
professionals in the use of the TOGAF ADM for producing open
architectures, are a critical element in enabling our industry
to create the IT cities of the future.
However, they alone are insufficient. We need to ensure that
we have standards and verification of adherence to those standards
for each layer of the infrastructure. The Open Group Security
Forum's Enterprise Vulnerability Initiative and its series
of guides and best practices will strongly support those needs
and, working with other groups such as the Jericho Forum,
will progress the needs for security in an environment where
boundaries are becoming more permeable and where we need to
strike the most effective balance between being open for business
and being safe and secure.
What makes this industry exciting, while at the same time
brings new challenges, is the rate and type of innovation.
Web services is an example. The expectations, supported by
the results of some pilot trials, are that huge benefits will
accrue to those organizations that implement web services.
One of the challenges inherent with web services is in the
area of manageability. Management has a huge part to play
in making our IT cities of the future safe places to live:
instrumentation has the potential to provide the smoke detectors
and the burglar alarms we need. Yet web services has added
a whole new dimension of complexity and diversity. The Application
Quality/ Resource Management (AQRM) initiative will address
this challenge, but before it does so, it needs feedback on
the requirements from members of the community.
While each of these initiatives delivers immense value back
to the industry, we need a much bigger, more concerted effort
towards bringing together the big players in the industry,
and taking a "city planner" approach to putting
our collective houses in order.
At the end of the day we do not want to be hit by the IT equivalent
of an earthquake.
But if we are, I would rather be in Paso Robles than Bam.
Top of Page
CIO Corner with Terry Blevins
Managing the Flow of Information
With every Member Conference we see further evidence that
information must flow throughout an enterprise to make our
business work, and the importance of The Open Group’s
vision of Boundaryless Information Flow™.
Managing this flow of information necessitates the automation
of business processes, which enables automation of business
activities to help people capture, organize, and visualize
information about the business environment. This, in turn,
enables business- or mission-focused decision-making. Managing
information flow ensures effective and consistent transfer
of information between process activities, reducing manual
re-entry errors and improving efficiency.
Information must flow between various providers of information
and consumers of information, sometimes virtually in real-time.
This information must flow when an information provider instigates
the flow; for example, when an individual sends an email.
Information must flow when an information consumer requests
the information; for example, when an individual requests
information from a database. Information must flow to specific
consumers of information when information changes; for example,
when a stock market value is reached or when a certain threshold
in reached.
When information flows it may need to be reviewed by multiple
gatekeepers, human or machine, to ensure that information
is only delivered for authorized use. It may pass through
various stages for augmentation to ensure that the information
is in the right format. It may even flow to multiple intermediate
stops, human or machine, serially or in parallel.
To deal with these diverse elements, an environment needs
an open set of services to manage information flow. For our
purposes we will refer to these services as information flow
services.
Information flow services support both applications and processes,
and allow those applications and processes to be focused on
the business or mission of the organization, as opposed to
dealing with the idiosyncrasies of the computing environment.
Information flow services must also support the monitoring
and control of the flow and capture statistics for process
and performance improvement. Information flow services should
enhance productivity by making computer systems active components
of the business process and eliminating much of the manual
coordinating activity that goes on in an organization today.
And information flow services must enable workers connected
over a network to collaborate and coordinate their work.
In many cases, a workflow engine is responsible for controlling
and tracking the flow of information by providing information
flow services. Routing decisions are made in the workflow
engine to protect the applications and process from changes
in the environment, and to allow for definition, control,
and analysis of the flow. Active triggers in database and
application systems that automate action under specified conditions
are yet another key element of information flow services.
It is easy to see that information flow services are a vital
part of today’s business infrastructure. The next conference
of The Open Group in Brussels, April 19-23, 2004, will focus
on the different techniques and services that are being used
today. We will also take a look at the standards that support
managing the flow of information. I hope you will join us
in April.
Please contact me if you would like to discuss managing the
flow of information services further. Email t.blevins@opengroup.org
http://www.opengroup.org/cio
Top of Page
Allen Brown, The Open Group's President & CEO, spoke in
Tokyo
Allen Brown, The Open Group’s President and CEO, spoke
at the joint Research Environment for Global Information Society
Inc. (ReGIS Inc.) & The Open Group Forum in Tokyo, Japan
on February 19, 2004. He presented an overview of The Open
Group’s recent activities, discussed our close cooperation
with the DoD and DISA, and also addressed plans for 2004.
There was also a panel discussion with Japanese IT supplies
and key members of The Open Group on topics such as: "How
to implement open architecture in Japan. What are the issues?
How can we resolve the issues and take actions?"
For complete information on the event, please visit
http://www.re-gis.com/forum/forum40/forum40-e.html
Top of Page
Allen Brown to Speak at Best Practices Standards Setting Seminar
On Wednesday, March 3, 2004 The Open Group’s President
and CEO, Allen Brown, will speak at the “Best Practices
in Standards Setting” Conference to a live audience
and a webcast (which you are invited to join). The conference,
in Beaverton, Oregon, will help participants understand the
opportunities that standards organizations represent.
The technology industry has come to rely heavily on standards
to bring innovative new products to market. The industry has
evolved to a point where no single company can manage and
support the full solution stack.
Standards provide the basis for cooperation among industry
participants and create the means to ensure interoperability
among participant products.
What you’ll learn:
- Why standards are important to large and small companies
in the technology industry
- What are the trends in consortia formation and operation
- What to look for when you consider joining a consortium
- What are the legal issues facing consortia and participating
members
- What kind of business and technology infrastructure does
it take to operate a standards consortium
- How is compliance to a standard determined and how do
consortia certify interoperability
- What are the economic considerations for consortia operations
and member company participation
For more information, please visit http://seminar.kavi.com/home
Top of Page
Allen Brown and Steve Nunn to Speak at 'Open Source in Government'
Conference
Allen Brown, The Open Group’s President and CEO, and Steve
Nunn, The Open Group’s COO and Legal Counsel, will speak
at the Open Source in Government: Unlocking Innovation for the
Business of Government conference at George Washington University
in Washington DC, March 15-17, 2004. The conference is co-sponsored
by The General Services Administration and The Center of Open
Source & Government. Allen Brown will discuss issues related
to standards, certification and interoperability in Open Source,
and Steve Nunn will discuss legal issues related to Open Source.
For more information, please visit http://www.egovos.org/Conferences
Top of Page
The
Open Group Introduces Certification for TOGAF 8
At the recent “Boundaryless Information Flow: Open Standards
and Certification” conference, The Open Group introduced
the TOGAF 8 certification program for The Open Group Architecture
Framework “Enterprise Edition.” The new certification
program enables architecture service providers and tools vendors
to demonstrate that their products and services support the
enterprise architect using TOGAF Version 8.
TOGAF 8, a detailed method and a set of supporting tools, may
be used under a free, perpetual license by any organization
wishing to develop enterprise architecture for use within that
organization. For service providers, a commercial license is
available.
The first companies that obtained certification include:
In addition, 16 individuals were certified as TOGAF 8 Practitioners.
For the full story, please visit http://www.opengroup.org/comm/press/04feb04.htm
Top of Page
The Open Group and EAIIC Hold Workshop
At the recent “Boundaryless Information Flow: Open Standards
and Certification” conference, representatives from the
Enterprise Application Integration Industry Consortium (EAIIC)
and The Open Group held a workshop to examine the integration
of large-scale systems to enable global enterprise interoperability
and secure, reliable and timely flow of information.
Both consortia stress the need for a business-driven approach
to integration solutions, and both have proven methodologies
that can help address the key problems involved. A number of
presentations were made (please see
http://www.opengroup.org/conference-live/uploads/40/4516/03AR_eaiic.htm
for complete presentations) during which there was an excellent
exchange of information and detailed discussion of each consortium's
goals, objectives, and methodologies.
The final session of the day was a facilitated discussion that
explored potential common work areas, solicited feedback from
participants, and identified individuals interested in participating
further in collaborative work.
In addition, there was agreement to present TOGAF at the EAIIC's
Integration Summit at Banff, Canada, in May 2004.
Please contact John Spencer, Director of The Open Group’s
Architecture Forum, at j.spencer@opengroup.org
for more details.
Top of Page
The Open Group Governing Board Elects Customer Council Representatives
as New Chair and Vice-Chairs
Alan Doniger, Director of Technology for Petrotechnical Open
Standards Consortium (POSC) and one of the current Customer
Council representatives to The Open Group Governing Board, has
been elected as the new Chair of the Governing Board. The Governing
Board also elected three new Vice-Chairs: Dr. James Bell, Director
of Standards and Industry Initiatives, Hewlett Packard Company;
Elaine Babcock, Chief of the Standards Integration Division,
Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA); and William Estrem,
the Honeywell Professor of Global Technology Management, College
of Business, University of Saint Thomas. Like Doniger, both
Babcock and Estrem are elected to the Governing Board as representatives
of the Customer Council.
The Open Group’s Governing Board provides leadership and
overall strategic direction, working with the organization’s
management team on the execution of the strategy. The Governing
Board is comprised of representatives of sponsor companies,
the Customer and Supplier Councils, the President and CEO of
The Open Group, and the Corporate Secretary. Each Governing
Board member is elected to a two-year term.
Top of Page
The Open Group and IEEE Okay 'Linux Manual Pages Project'
The IEEE and The Open Group have granted permission to the Linux
Manual Pages Project to incorporate material from the joint
IEEE 1003.1™ POSIX® standard and The Open Group Base
Specifications Issue 6.
This step will allow developers using the Linux manual pages
to gain a better understanding of how to write portable programs
utilizing IEEE Std 1003.1, “Standard for Information Technology--
Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX)”. The POSIX
standard, which also forms the core volumes of Version 3 of
The Open Group’s Single UNIX® Specification, defines
a set of fundamental services needed for the construction of
portable application programs.
IEEE and The Open Group have granted permissions for reuse of
material in the Linux ‘man pages’ project (see:
ftp://ftp.win.tue.nl/pub/linux-local/manpages) covering over
1400 interfaces from the standard including the headers, system
interfaces and utilities.
For more information, please visit http://www.opengroup.org/press/21jan04.htm
Top of Page
Conference Preview: Boundaryless Information Flow™: Managing
The Flow
The ability to enable secure, reliable, and timely access to
the right information, unlock that information, and overcome
the boundaries within and between organizations is now the overriding
requirement for customers of IT products and services.
Vendors are responding with their own interpretation of this
requirement. Terms like “adaptive”, “seamless”,
and “on–demand” exemplify that workflow and
process management solutions are becoming more integral to products.
The Open Group’s vision of Boundaryless Information Flow
is a vendor-neutral and technology-neutral way of describing
what IT organizations need in order to deliver.
The Open Group’s “Boundaryless Information Flow:
Managing the Flow” conference at the Brussels Hilton Hotel
in Brussels, Belgium, April 19-23, 2004, will help you gain
valuable information from customers, vendors, and analysts to
help you better manage the flow in your organization. As organizations
everywhere strive to do more with less, it is important to be
aware of best practices, what others are doing, their experiences
so far, and what is coming in the near future.
What will you learn:
- What enterprises are doing to get information to flow
systematically where it is needed
- What security issues arise when boundaries become permeable
- What organizations are doing to tackle these security
issues
- What suppliers are providing to help customers achieve
Boundaryless Information Flow
- How standards and standard methodologies support this
transition
To view the plenary program, please visit http://www.opengroup.org/events/q204/plenary.htm
To register for the conference, please visit http://www.opengroup.org/brussels2004
- reserve your place now for Early-bird rates, effective through
March 12!
Top of Page
Summary of Recent Specification/Product Standard Approvals
- On February 9 2004, the IEEE Standards Board approved
Technical Corrigendum 2 of the Austin Group specifications
as IEEE Std 1003.1-2001/Cor 2-2004
- This is the second set of corrections to the joint IEEE
and The Open Group standard developed by the Austin Group.
http://www.opengroup.org/platform/unix_certification/news.tpl?CALLER=index.tpl&gnid=281
The corrigendum is expected to be published in March 2004.
For more information see http://www.opengroup.org/austin/
- On February 5 2004, The Open Group Governing Board approved
the UNIX 03 Server Product Standard, including the subsidiary
Internet Server V2 and Internet Protocol Version 6 Product
Standards.
- This adds the latest internet server capabilities to the
UNIX 03 certification program.
http://www.opengroup.org/platform/unix_certification/news.tpl?CALLER=index.tpl&gnid=282
Product Standards:
* X04IP Internet Protocol Version 6 2/2004
* X04PS Internet Server V2 2/2004
* X04XY UNIX 03 Server 2/2004
- On February 5 2004, The Open Group Governing Board approved
the COE Platform Certification Policy 1.1L and the COE Linux
Platform V1 Product Standards
+ This adds the Linux operating system to the COE Certification
program.
http://www.opengroup.org/openbrand/coe/
Brand Program Documentation:
* X041 COE Platform Certification Policy, Version 2 2/2004
Product Standards:
* X04CP COE Linux Platform V1 2/2004
* X04CQ COE Linux Platform Government-Supplied Kernel Source
2/2004
* X04CS COE Linux Platform Specifications 2/2004
- On January 13 2004, The Open Group Governing Board approved
the TOGAF Certification Policy and the TOGAF 8 Product standards.
+ This updates the TOGAF Certification program to TOGAF
Version 8
and includes a formal certification program.
Brand Program Documentation:
* X040 TOGAF Certification Policy 1/2004
TOGAF Documentation:
* I915 TOGAF, Version 8.1 'Enterprise Edition' 1/2004
* I916 TOGAF 8 Professional Services: Code of Practice 1/2004
* I917 TOGAF 8 Core Definition 1/2004
Product Standards:
* X04TA TOGAF 8 Certified 1/2004
* X04TB TOGAF 8 Tool Support 1/2004
* X04TC TOGAF 8 Professional Services 1/2004
* X04TD TOGAF 8 Training 1/2004
- On December 18 2003, The Open Group Governing Board approved
Technical Corrigendum 2 of the Austin Group specifications
as The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 6, Technical
Corrigendum 2.
- Same as the IEEE approval on Feb 9 2004
- February 5 2004, The Open Group Governing Board approved
publication of the Distributed Relational Database Architecture
version 3 - DRDA v3 - as a Technical Standard.
This DRDA v3 Technical Standard is now publicly available
from The Open Group's publications Web site, under the Data
Management group of
publications, at http://www.opengroup.org/publications/catalog/dm.htm.
DRDA v3 is published as a 3-volume set, in PDF:
* DRDA version 3, Volume 1, C043 : Distributed Relational
Database Architecture, 722 pages
* DRDA version 3, Volume 2, C044: Formatted Data Object
Content Architecture, 104 pages
* DRDA version 3, Volume 3, C045: Distributed Data Management
Architecture, 1168 pages
The DRDA v3 Technical Standard replaces the DRDA version
2 standard (C911, C912, C913), which was published in December
1999 and which is now deprecated.
Top of Page
Certification News
- SIF Certification
The Open Group is pleased to announce that the following
product has been registered as conforming to the SIF-enabled
Application Product Standard 1.1:
Olympia Computing Company Inc. - Schoolmaster 5.23 with
Schoolmaster SIF
Agent 1.01
To view all current SIF certifications and conformance statements,
please see the SIF Certification Register at:
http://www.opengroup.org/sif/cert/register.html
For more information on the SIF compliance program, please
refer to:
http://www.opengroup.org/sif/cert
- WAP Certifications
The Open Group is pleased to announce the certification
of the following as conforming to the WAP June 2000 product
specification:
From LG Electronics:
-- LG C130 Version 1.0
-- LG F720 Version 1.0
-- LG S110 Version 1.0
-- LG S120 Version 1.0
-- LG T510 Version 1.0
-- LG U8100 Version 1.0
From Motorola:
-- Motorola A835 Series Version TALINT_U_72.30.0DI
From Philips:
-- Philips 550 Version CT5508
-- Philips 755 Version CT7558
-- Philips 759 Version CT7598
-- Philips 855 Version CT8558
To view the WAP Certified register, please refer to
http://www.opengroup.org/wap/cert/register_j2k.html
- LDAP Certification
We are very pleased to announce that Novell has registered
the following product as conforming to the LDAP Certified
Product Standard:
Product Name: Novell eDirectory 8.7.x
Environment: HP-UX 11.11 or above on PA-RISC
For more information on the Open Brand Certification Program,
please refer to:
http://www.opengroup.org/openbrand/
Top of Page
Industry Events Calendar
Events of The Open Group:
Joint ReGIS and The Open Group Forum
February 19, 2004
Tokyo, Japan
http://www.re-gis.com/forum/forum40/forum40-e.html
Boundaryless Information Flow™:
Managing the Flow
April 19-23, 2004
Brussels, Belgium
http://www.opengroup.org/brussels2004
Boundaryless Information Flow™: Enterprise Information
Management
July 19-23, 2004
Boston, USA
http://www.opengroup.org/events
Boundaryless Information Flow™:
Securing the Extended Enterprise
October 18-21, 2004
New Orleans, USA
http://www.opengroup.org/events
Other Industry Events:
RSA 13th Annual Conference
February 23-27, 2004
Moscone Center, San Francisco, California
http://www.rsasecurity.com/
Digital Identity Management Summit
Enabling user-friendly and safe identity-based access to multiple
systems and applications for consumers, enterprises and public
sector
March 1-4, 2004
Thistle Marble Arch, London, UK
The first European event to assemble all the parties responsible
for managing the privacy, integrity and security of personal
device based digital identity information
http://www.iir-conferences.com/site/_prod-grp.cfm?dirname=CG2143&Confcode=CG2143&iv=23
Best Practices in Standards Setting
March 3, 2004
Beaverton, Oregon, USA
http://seminar.kavi.com/home
Open Source in Government: Unlocking
Innovation for the Business of Government
March 15-17, 2004
George Washington University, Washington DC, USA
http://www.egovos.org/Conferences
Enterprise Messaging Decisions
May 4-6, 2004
Chicago, USA
http://enterprisemessagingdecisions.techtarget.com/
5th National Information Security Conference
(NISC5)
May 19-21, 2004
St Andrews, Scotland, UK
http://www.nisc.org.uk/
Global EAI Summit
Enterprise Application Integration
May 24-28, 2004
Banff (Alberta), Canada
http://www.globaleaisummit.com
Final Thoughts...
Please let us know if there are other subjects you would like
to see covered in this newsletter, if you have any comments
on any story or article in the newsletter, or to send letters
to the editor for possible publication in the future. You
can contacts us at memnews@opengroup.org.
We look forward to hearing from you, and will see you next
month.
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