The International Standards Organization (IS0) announced it has approved a suite of four ebXML OASIS standards for conducting business over the Internet.

The submissions from OASIS will be published as ISO/TS 15000 technical specifications. The new ISO 15000 designation, titled "Electronic business eXtensible mark-up language," includes four parts, each of which corresponds to one of ebXML's standards. They are:

* ISO 15000-1, for ebXML’s Collaborative Partner Profile Agreement;

* ISO 15000-2, for ebXML’s Messaging Service Specification;

* ISO 15000-3, for ebXML’s Registry Information Model; and

* ISO 15000-4, for ebXML’s Registry Services Specification.

Because they are Internet-based, the ebXML standards are less costly to implement and use than other e-business standards, such as EDI. They are designed to let companies of any industry, size or part of the world exchange business messages, conduct trading relationships, communicate data in common terms and define and register business processes, ISO said. The overall goal, it said, is to make it easier for organizations to interface with others within and outside their industry, open up new markets with less effort than before and, at the same time, cut costs and simplify process associated with traditional document exchange.

"ISO approval is a gratifying endorsement of both ebXML and the OASIS open standards process," said Patrick Gannon, president and CEO of OASIS. "ISO designation makes the already widely adopted ebXML standards even more accessible -- particularly for those implementing business solutions for governments, who look to ISO for assurance of long term viability."

Although the ebXML standards have been accepted by ISO, the OASIS organization will retain responsibility for maintaining and advancing them, the groups said.

For more information on ebXML, visit ISO here or OASIS here.