Open and Secure Communication - EDI is not enough

Abstract

From the 1994 CAIS Conference:The Information Industry in TransitionMcGill University, Montreal, Quebec. May 25 - 27, 1994.Information is becoming an important production factor. Businesses are being forced to communicate and exchange information with each other because of market pressures such as increased competition, the internationalization of markets, and specialization of production processes. To survive, businesses must streamline both in-house and external communications while at the same time ensuring the quality, timeliness, and availability of information. Information Technology (IT), in the form of open office communication systems, provides a means for supporting this exchange of information. These systems provide a means for hardware- and software-independent communications within the organization as well as communication between organizations. Organizations depend on both the availability of information and the use of IT system. Together called as the electronic information interchange. Since information is primarily represented in the form of documents, open office communication relies on the use of document standards. This paper examines document standards focusing on the difference between loosely and highly structured information exchange and also the role of security which is an important issue for organizations depending on open eletronic information exchange.