1.3 Formal international standardisation organizations
9
The groups can be subdivided into two categories, international organizations
and international consortia.
International organizations base their decisions on consensus. By having a budget
scheme that allocates the financial burden of the organization to all member countries according to their econornic potential, international organizations are fairly independent of the interests of individual govemments or industries. Most of the organizations have a long history - some of them are almost 150 years old - today their
work-rate is sometimes considered to be too slow for industry needs.
Three international organizations dorninate the field of standardisation. They are
sometimes called the Standards Developing Organizations (SDO): the ISO is the "International Organization for Standardisation", the IEC is the "International Electrotechnical Commission", and the ITU is the "International Telecommunication Union".
The members of international consortia are drawn primarily from industry, often
from government agencies, and universities are occasionally represented. The primary goal of international consortia is to bundle the interests of their members. One
of their interests is the development of common standards in order to advance other
developments. Though the standard development is done with the participation of all
members, the strong influence of the larger companies cannot be neglected. Though
the standards might not be built on a broad consensus, the results are generally technically feasible and foster progress on the subject. They are called industry or defacto standards.
The Open GIS Consortium (OGC) could presently be considered the most important consortium in the geographie information community. Another example of a
consortium is the W3C, the "World Wide Web consortium". It organizes the work
necessary for the development and evolution of a Web technology into activities.
1.3 Formal international standardisation organizations
Originally the three organizations ISO, IEC, and ITU had their well-defined fields
of activity. The IEC dealt with the electro technical equipment. The ITU dealt with
the radio transmission, and the ISO was responsible for all other subjects. However,
today's sectors such as computer science have developed and the borders between
the subjects have become blurred. There are current demands to merge the work of
all three organizations into one enterprise.
1.3.1 International Organization tor 5tandardisation (ISO)
The "International Federation of the National Standardising Associations" (ISA)
was founded in 1926 with its primary focus on mechanical engineering. The ISA
ceased its activities in 1942, owing to World War 11. In 1947 the ISO was established
as a new non-govemmental organization and continued the work. The ISO Central
Secretariat is in Geneva, Switzerland.
9
The groups can be subdivided into two categories, international organizations
and international consortia.
International organizations base their decisions on consensus. By having a budget
scheme that allocates the financial burden of the organization to all member countries according to their econornic potential, international organizations are fairly independent of the interests of individual govemments or industries. Most of the organizations have a long history - some of them are almost 150 years old - today their
work-rate is sometimes considered to be too slow for industry needs.
Three international organizations dorninate the field of standardisation. They are
sometimes called the Standards Developing Organizations (SDO): the ISO is the "International Organization for Standardisation", the IEC is the "International Electrotechnical Commission", and the ITU is the "International Telecommunication Union".
The members of international consortia are drawn primarily from industry, often
from government agencies, and universities are occasionally represented. The primary goal of international consortia is to bundle the interests of their members. One
of their interests is the development of common standards in order to advance other
developments. Though the standard development is done with the participation of all
members, the strong influence of the larger companies cannot be neglected. Though
the standards might not be built on a broad consensus, the results are generally technically feasible and foster progress on the subject. They are called industry or defacto standards.
The Open GIS Consortium (OGC) could presently be considered the most important consortium in the geographie information community. Another example of a
consortium is the W3C, the "World Wide Web consortium". It organizes the work
necessary for the development and evolution of a Web technology into activities.
1.3 Formal international standardisation organizations
Originally the three organizations ISO, IEC, and ITU had their well-defined fields
of activity. The IEC dealt with the electro technical equipment. The ITU dealt with
the radio transmission, and the ISO was responsible for all other subjects. However,
today's sectors such as computer science have developed and the borders between
the subjects have become blurred. There are current demands to merge the work of
all three organizations into one enterprise.
1.3.1 International Organization tor 5tandardisation (ISO)
The "International Federation of the National Standardising Associations" (ISA)
was founded in 1926 with its primary focus on mechanical engineering. The ISA
ceased its activities in 1942, owing to World War 11. In 1947 the ISO was established
as a new non-govemmental organization and continued the work. The ISO Central
Secretariat is in Geneva, Switzerland.