IRVING, Texas, Feb. 28, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- During the February ANSI Accredited Standards Committee X12 Trimester meeting in Seattle, Washington, the standards organization formally created a task group focusing on convergence of the various extensible markup language (XML) activities currently being pursued by various trade associations and industry groups. bTrade, inc. strongly supports this effort and is actively soliciting the participation of its partners in this landmark effort to reduce chaos within the eBusiness community. "These efforts are significant in that they provide a framework to accelerate the velocity of cross-industry collaboration between legacy EDI environments and newer XML based solutions," says Bill Morgan, EVP & Chief Solutions Officer of bTrade, inc.
The Convergence and Outreach Task Group (COTG) is challenged with providing a forum for XML-based activities to be coordinated and discussed. It will ensure the free and open exchange of information between the business domain experts of ASC X12 and various groups external to the national standards body. David Barkley of Freddie Mac and the ASC X12 Chair says, "ASC X12's initiatives to collaborate with global XML standards development organizations will ultimately help to harmonize parallel efforts to generate electronic data exchange solutions, reduce costs by encouraging cooperative cross-industry efforts, and extend the reach of business, any size, anywhere." Karen Raper, the chair of the COTG from LittleSys Inc. in Tulsa, Oklahoma, reports that the group is off to a great start. Initial response to the initiative is very good, with several groups indicating a desire to affiliate with ASC X12.
About ASC X12
The Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12, accredited by the American National Standards Institute and comprised of cross-industry representation, develops robust e-business exchange specifications and electronic data interchange standards that interact with a multitude of e-commerce technologies and serve as the premier tool for integrating electronic applications. Through standards setting and active participation in emerging and technically relevant initiatives, ASC X12 facilitates the effective exchange of electronic information. Propelling global e-business, ASC X12 serves as the entry point for the United States into the United Nations/Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport (UN/EDIFACT), an international standard relating to the exchange of trade goods and services. To learn more about ASC X12, visit www.x12.org or call 703-837-6155.
About bTrade, inc.
bTrade, inc (www.bTrade.com) has more than eleven years of experience providing over 100,000 trading partners in a Global 2000 customer base with Collaborative Network Management Solutions that offer secure data transport, translation, transformation and collaborative applications. bTrade solutions are used to Consolidate communications onto a single IP based platform, Connect to every trading partner electronically in order to achieve 100% participation, and Collaborate to increase the value of your community.