Open software standards: good for us all

Andrew Josey at The Open Group discusses how open standards can enable access to software

The modern world expects a lot of digital technology. We want it to create the kinds of efficiencies that mean any business investment into it pays for itself several times over. We want it to make our lives easier and less laborious, handling the grind of repetitive tasks so that we can focus on more fulfilling problems. We want it to change our business models, delight our customers, and make our operations more sustainable.

We expect all of this because that is what technology – or, at least, the industries that create and deliver it – promise to us. Given the steepness of these demands, it is a remarkable fact that digital technology delivers on that promise as frequently and successfully as it does.

In all of that, it is important to maintain a focus on ensuring that these benefits are not just available, but widely accessible. Indeed, the idea of accessibility is easy to agree with. Regardless of your outlook on what an ideal world would look like, you probably agree that innovation should be possible across the economy, not just in those businesses with the deepest pockets.

Likewise, digital benefits should be felt across the world, not just in certain markets, and things like language should not serve as a barrier to sharing new, better ways of working.

Widely and fairly distributed technology builds stronger economies and is, in short, is good for all of us.

While the principle of accessibility is clearly a good thing, however, the reality is often more complex. New technologies do tend to be unevenly distributed, innovations made in one place can take a long time to spread, and it’s easy to find industries and markets which are behind the curve on digitalization.

One way of addressing this is to invest in actively bridging gaps and removing barriers to access. This might take any number of forms: directly funding technological improvements, incentivizing businesses to enter new markets or market segments, equipping workforces with new skills, setting up international collaborations, and more.

That can be important, even vital work, but as technology rapidly evolves it is work which demands continual upkeep and investment.

We can also, however, think in terms of building accessibility into the very fabric of the technologies we create, deploy, and use. The key to that lies in open standards. Open standards establish a clear model for how technologies should work and interact with one another in a format which is accessible to all.

Built on principles of consensus and mutual benefit, they make it possible for businesses and other stakeholders to both develop new systems and discuss ideas on the basis of a shared, clearly-defined language. And, by codifying that knowledge, they make better operations and innovations possible.

One simple, non-digital example might be useful to illustrate the point, here. Of the countless standards which permeate our everyday lives, few are as common as the size of paper. There are two predominant paper size systems in the world today, international and North American. Internationally, most paper for writing and printing is manufactured and cut according to definitions set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), in the ISO 216 standard – most commonly of all, if you are reading this outside of North America, the A4 paper that is probably sitting in your printer right now.

This standard means that any printer company, new or established, can design machines which are easily usable in markets around the world. It also means that stationary businesses have a model to design products around, and that a person selling handmade luggage and accessories knows how big their customers’ cards and documents will be. It gives postal and shipping companies a reference point for defining what they carry, and software developers a reference point for simulating physical pages.

ISO 216, in other words, may be unremarkable in itself, but it underpins a surprising amount of value that we have come to rely on. Pointing to almost any part of our modern digital ecosystem, we can find examples of standards being the key enabler in various, nuanced ways, from the most fundamental transmission of data between machines to the complexities of integrating business intelligence platforms with enterprise operations.

To pursue, manage, and promote that work is the reason for the existence of The Open Group. It hosts the forums and working groups behind a wide variety of standards, from the Single UNIX® Specification which underpins many of the world’s operating systems, through the TOGAF® Standard which outlines how enterprise architectures operate, to future-facing groups like the Open Footprint™ Forum which is creating a unified approach to sustainability data measurement and reporting.

Of course, any lowering of entry barriers and acceleration of implementation also has knock-on effects even for organizations that would not otherwise have suffered from a lack of accessibility.

All of the benefits of digital technology mentioned at the start of this article are enhanced – and, in certain cases, only possible at all – thanks to efforts towards open standardization. As we rely ever more deeply on digital technology, and expect more of it, we should also be engaging with the standards that make it possible and widely accessible.

Open standards are not, after all, the product of any one person or business. They are things that we design and maintain together, as industries and as communities.

Andrew Josey is VP of Standards and Certification at The Open Group

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com