Klaus-Dieter, My proposal was attempted satire. Please do not send money. (I can't believe I am saying that.)
The problem with self-testing is not compliance or interoperability, but perception. (1) It is irrelevant to Wal*Mart, perhaps the biggest supply-chain proponent and user of AS2. (2) It does not allay the fears of many prospective customers who naively believe that non-certified software is non-compliant or non-interoperable. These fears exist only because Drummond Group offers the option of certification. Moreover, neither certified nor self-tested software eliminates the most difficult problem to overcome, trading partners who do not know what they are doing. If somebody wants to create a self-test site, more power to them. Or, each vendor could put up a site so that prospective TPs could test individually with whatever software they have installed against whatever software their prospective ASx TP has installed. Art Douglas Chief Consultant Blackwater Network 877-464-8915 -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Klaus-Dieter Naujok Sent: Monday, January 22, 2007 11:46 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [EDI-L] Reducing/eliminating our EDI VAN On Jan 22, 2007, at 10:26 AM, Art Douglas wrote: > Maybe we need certified AS2 users. > > THE DOUGLAS-BLACKWATER GROUP WILL TEST THE INTEROPERABILITY OF AN > AS1, AS2, or AS3 USER FOR A SMALL INITIAL FEE OF $49,950 PER > STANDARD PAYABLE IN ADVANCE. USERS WHO ACHIEVE CERTIFICATION WILL > BE LISTED ON OUR WEB SITE FOR ONE YEAR. USERS FAILING TO ACHIEVE > CERTIFICATION MAY RE-APPLY AFTER 90 DAYS FOR A RE-APPLICATION FEE > OF $19,950. ANY CHANGE IN THE SOFTWARE BEING USED, INCLUDING > VERSION UPGRADES, WILL REQUIRE A RE-TESTING FEE OF $34,950 AND WILL > INCLUDE LISTING FOR ONE YEAR. TO RENEW A USER'S LISTING FOR A > SUBSEQUENT YEAR, SIMPLY REMIT THE ANNUAL RENEWAL FEE OF $14,950 PER > STANDARD. SEPARATE TESTING REQUIRED FOR EACH USER AT AN > INSTALLATION. MULTIPLE-USER DISCOUNTS ARE AVAILABLE, CALL FOR DETAILS. > > Do you think it would work? Art, I sense some frustration in your posting about the high cost, which is passed on to the customers, of EDIINT (AS*) certification which seems to have become a requirement by many trading partners. You are NOT alone. However, the solution is not to start charging similar amounts that DGI charges for other related certifications :-) DGI is also in the business to certifies ebXML implementations such as its reliable messaging, HOWEVER, there is an alternative available allowing self testing via a test suite made available through NIST (<http://ebxmltesting.nist.gov/download.html>). This suite uses Open- Source software and therefore is free for anyone to use for testing their product. There is no "certificate" one gets for passing the self-test other then the option to state that their products passed the test of the NIST Test Suite. It is a "fair play" alternative which largely depends on the willingness of the vendor and user communities to work together and address any issues in public, including false reporting. Why not take a page from ebXML now that there are a few Open-Source AS* products available? With the help from those Open-Source developers, one could quickly create an AS* test suite and make it available on-line for 24/7 testing. I am sure that EDI-L's community could become a watchdog to ensure that those vendors that claim to have passed the test have done so successfully simply be continuing to do what is done now - users reporting their experience (good or bad) about a product. The last step after having a number of products that not only have reported they passed the tests but also are reported to work with each other (maybe hold an open and public interoperability test week) pressure can be put on those industries and large trading partners that currently only accept to interchange with DGI certified products. Back to you Art, what do you think? Klaus [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ... Please use the following Message Identifiers as your subject prefix: <SALES>, <JOBS>, <LIST>, <TECH>, <MISC>, <EVENT>, <OFF-TOPIC> Job postings are welcome, but for job postings or requests for work: <JOBS> IS REQUIRED in the subject line as a prefix. Yahoo! Groups Links ... Please use the following Message Identifiers as your subject prefix: <SALES>, <JOBS>, <LIST>, <TECH>, <MISC>, <EVENT>, <OFF-TOPIC> Job postings are welcome, but for job postings or requests for work: <JOBS> IS REQUIRED in the subject line as a prefix. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EDI-L/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EDI-L/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
