HIGHLIGHTS FROM
Trust and Confidence in
the Global Infrastructure
| Topicality: | The theme of
Trust and Confidence in the Global Infrastructure complemented our
last Conference on Privacy
and provided the raison d'être to our work on open standards
and especially Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and Common Data
Security Architecture (CDSA). The Conference had strong support from
senior representatives of US Government and Military Institutions.
People who are working to respond to the US Critical Infrastructure
Project and other security related initiatives.
The first session identified the critical need for trust and confidence in computer systems evidenced by the needs and experiences of US government institutions. These needs echo the needs of industry and commerce. This led to a lively panel discussion. The second session looked at legal and regulatory issues, examining the differences between the US and European approach to regulation, and demonstrating that no one government, nor governments alone, could regulate for the global infrastructure for eBusiness. Global trade agreements and bi-lateral and multi-lateral business contracts would be needed. In the second session we moved towards the IT solutions and the role of PKI. The second day brought further sessions which examined IT solutions and examined trust and confidence in relation to three of The Open Group Programs: Security and eCommerce, Enterprise Management, and Directory. It underlined the importance and relevance of our work in this area. The Plenary Sessions concluded with an update with recent developments featuring the work on testing and conformance in the fields of objects and wireless, work on directory and directory interoperability testing, and The Open Group's contribution to the Trusted Infrastructure for Europe (TIE) project. During the Conference we announced publication of the Application Instrumentation and Control API (AIC) following completion of the Fast-Track Review process of the specification submitted by CA and J P Morgan. This Technical Standard is of great significance for those wishing to enhance their enterprise management systems. Other Conference highlights included a special meeting on CDSA developments, a Briefing on Software Licensing (XSLM), and the Architecture Tools Symposium. |
| Sponsorship: | We were pleased to have Intel sponsor our Conference. |
| Our
Speakers: |
The
contribution from plenary speakers was highly valued.
Professor James Chandler (National Intellectual Property Law
Institute and George Washington University National Law Center),
Mark Montgomery (National Security Council), John M Gilligan
(US Department of Energy and The Federal CIO Council), Richard
Schaeffer (US Department of Defense), Stewart Baker (Steptoe &
Johnson LLP), Chris Taper (ICL and ICX), Charles Blauner (J P
Morgan), Parker Foley (First Union Corporation), and Steve Whitlock
(Boeing) contributed to our first day. David Hochhauser (IBM),
Per Kaijser (Siemens), Sabari Gupta (Cygnacom), Michael Gilmore
(FBI), Danny Moser (BMC), Ray Williams (Tivoli), Russ Richards
(DISA), Marlena Erdos (IBM) and Baber Amin (Novell) helped make our
second day. External
contributors to other sessions through the week are too numerous to
mention here (please see the individual reports). We extend thanks to all our speakers who gave such a breadth of information and insights in our Plenary, Briefing, and other Sessions. |
| Location: | We welcomed a large number of members and visitors to Washington DC for our Conference. We were specially pleased to have so many representatives from US Government (both civil and military). All sessions were well attended and the interaction between suppliers and buyers was as high as ever! |
| New Members: |
We welcomed a number of new members from Japan and the United States. |
| Collaboration: | We were pleased to welcome representatives of various consortia and other bodies. This included the Directory Interoperability Forum (DIF). The Conference was used as a platform for the launch of the proposed PKI Forum. |
| Forums: | Plans to revitalize the member councils were advanced in two sessions to launch the Customer and Supplier Forums. The mission and goals of each Forum will provide a platform to discuss buy-side and supply-side issues outside of the program groups and will lead to a new form of requirements or problem gathering exercise to drive new programs and projects, and to establish a firmer link between the business need and the deliverables of The Open Group. |
| Projects
and Program Groups: |
Architecture
PG: held its first IT Architecture Tools Symposium,
finalized TOGAF V5, and took the next steps in adoption of the
Architecture Description Markup Language (ADML) developed by the
Micro-electronics and Computer technology Consortium (MCC) as the
means to providing a Building Blocks Description Language.
Directory PG: reached agreement on the Directory
Brand Roadmap, including a "Quickstart" scheme, a Server
Brand, a Client Software Development Kit (SDK) brand, and a
"Works With LDAP" scheme for applications. DirConnect5: The LDAP interoperability testing event was held in parallel with The Open Group Conference. It included testing of basic certificate handling by directories, secure access to directories, and a test suite for certificate authorities. 8 major vendors took part. Enterprise Management PG: worked on promoting deployment of the Application Resource Measurement (ARM), Software Licensing (XSLM), and the Application Instrumentation & Control (AIC). It has initiated a manageability initiative to provide standard open instrumentation interfaces, and service definitions for components. Security PG: learnt that CDSA Version 2 would be published within days, discussed proposals for a CDSA Conformance Profile, and looked at strategic directions for the Security Program including the AZN-API and the HRS specifications. |
| Next Conference: |
We invite you to join us at our next Conference in San Diego, California, USA from January 24 2000. The plenary theme will be "Enterprise Management for eBusiness in the 21st Century". |