The Business Application Software Developers Association (BASDA) has released the latest version of its eBIS-XML electronic data exchange standard with a focus on common business processes, green issues and utilities.
The not-for-profit organisation has been developing the standard since 1999 to support interoperability between software systems used in business.
It has developed version 3.10 to deal with a number of processes. It includes standards for document batching capabilities and activities for hire activities for trading documents, and one for energy billing that allows units to be embedded. The latter supports a customer's analysis of usage, especially for companies with several sites and meters.
Green eBIS-XML provides a format for the exchange of environmental information, carbon content and impact details for items supplied. This is expected to be useful for companies required to measure and report on their carbon footprint.
BASDA has also made it possible to provide for specific information extensions within the standards, for functions such as timesheets, contract hire and sector specific data.
Tim Cole, chair of the BASDA eBusiness Special Interest Group, said: "Interoperability is a key issue by which we can support process improvement and economic growth. This requires the support of application developers who, in turn, need a competent, flexible and widely supported framework to adopt. This approach delivers such a framework.
"BASDA ensures we can achieve speed to market at the same time as building a growing community of providers committed to delivering an integrated economy.
