Page 89 - Intelligent Communication Systems

72 INTELLIGENT COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS
In summary, the company does not begin from scratch to make specifications as
the standards for CALS. They study the specifications that have already been stan-
dardized and then judge whether they are suitable or not for the standardization of
CALS.
A struggle for leadership occurs when standardization activities proceed. In
the case of CALS, the EU and the United States competed for leadership. For
example, for the standardization of EDI, the United States claimed ANSI.X12,
whereas the EU claimed EDIFACT. But cooperation among competitors is most
important in order to coordinate and establish standards.
There are two ways to handle standardization. One is to take into considera-
tion de facto standards, that is, the specifications that have been widely used in the
private sector, such as the Windows operating system developed by Microsoft. The
other approach involves the official standards adopted by the standardization
organizations, such as the ISO standards.
The open-system approach has been proposed because that enables different
types of computers to interconnect and makes the exchange of information possi-
ble. Not only the standardization of data formats but also the standardization of the
information interchange have been taken into consideration in CALS. By the estab-
lishment of the standardization of the data formats and data interchange, data can
be exchanged freely among the different systems. CALS assures the information
interchange and interoperability among systems.

7.8.8 Organizations of Standardization
There are many organizations for standardization, from the global level to the domes-
tic level. Here are the main organizations. The International Standards Organization
(ISO), established in 1947, is the most famous. Its major focus is standardization of
items related to industry, science, and technology, except for telecommunications
issues. Only one organization from each country is allowed to participate as a member.
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) was established in 1906. Its task
is to standardize items related to electrical and electronic subjects. For the standardi-
zation of computers, ISO is in charge of computer software and IEC is in charge of
computer hardware.
In 1987, a joint committee of ISO/IEC, JTCI, was organized to handle the
cooperative standardization of computers. The International Telecommunications
Union (ITU) is the professional organization for standardization of telecommuni-
cations under the umbrella of the United Nations. The American National Stan-
dards Institute (ANSI) is the ISO member representing the United States.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is the organiza-
tion for standardization of computer systems and information processing in the
United States. About 600 standards are considered every year for revision. The
Computer and Business Equipment Manufacturers' Association (CBEMA) is in
charge of the standardization of computers and business machines, under the
umbrella of ANSI.