E-business group names new tech chief

E-business standards group RosettaNet on Thursday announced that it has appointed a new chief technologist to lead the consortium's technical and architectural efforts.

The group, which specializes in Web standards for exchanging data over the Internet using Extensible Markup Language (XML), tapped Suresh Damodaran, who will also represent the consortium in industry work groups and advise it on convergence strategies with existing and emerging open standards.

RosettaNet, which was founded in 1998, recently became a subsidiary of the Uniform Code Council, which develops standards for the retail industry. RosettaNet is one of several organizations that defines XML and Web-based standards for electronic commerce applications. Others include the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards, or OASIS, along with the World Wide Web Consortium and the Web Services Interoperability Organization.

Later this year, RosettaNet said it expects to make changes to its architecture to better support newer technologies, including plans to produce so-called Partner Interface Processes based on XML schema. The consortium said it would investigate different ways to exchange data using models geared to build on existing collaborative business processes.

The group also hopes to create a common architecture with the UCC to ease the standards implementation across various industries.

Damodaran previously served as RosettaNet's chief architect. He is on loan from Sterling Commerce, a subsidiary of SBC Communications. The former chief technologist, Derek Coleman, who was on loan from Hewlett-Packard, will return to that company, the group said.