Chairman's Corner

Since 2011, I have had the privilege to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Industry Standards and Technology Organization (ISTO). It has been an exciting and fulfilling experience for me. Since 2011, we have added a number of new programs to the ISTO Federation and have seen other programs complete their work and move on. Such is the life cycle of our Federation of programs.

As many of you know, I will be serving as President of the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) and as a member of the IEEE Board of Directors in 2017 and 2018. I have decided it would not be fair to either organization to stay on as Chairman of ISTO while serving as the President of IEEE-SA. Earlier this year I informed the members of the ISTO Board of Directors of my intention to step down as Chairman at the end of 2016. That time is quickly approaching and the new Chairman will be elected at the Board’s December meeting. I wish my successor the best of luck. I hope to be able to stay on the ISTO Board to help in whatever way I can to smooth the transition and to work for the continued success of the ISTO.

I wish each of you much happiness in the upcoming holiday season and continued success in the work of your program!

Don Wright

Chairman, IEEE Industry Standards and Technology Organization

Tech Leaders Unite to Enable New Cloud Datacenter Server Designs for Big Data, Machine Learning, Analytics and other Emerging Workloads

Technology leaders AMD, Dell EMC, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM, Mellanox Technologies, Micron, NVIDIA and Xilinx today announced a new, open specification that can increase datacenter server performance by up to 10x, enabling corporate and cloud data centers to speed up big data, machine learning, analytics, and other emerging workloads. Servers and related products based on the new standard are expected in the second half of 2017.

The new standard, called OpenCAPI and released today by the newly formed OpenCAPI Consortium, provides an open, high-speed pathway for different types of technology – advanced memory, accelerators, networking and storage – to more tightly integrate their functions within servers. This data-centric approach to server design, which puts the compute power closer to the data, removes inefficiencies in traditional system architectures to help eliminate system bottlenecks and can significantly improve server performance.

The Motivations Behind Alliances, an ISTO White Paper

by Norman Shaw, Director of New Business and Product Development

The purpose of this paper is to outline the motivations behind the growth of alliances as a means of advancing the goals and objectives of individual organizations/companies, especially those working in technology markets. It is hoped that what follows will assist the innovator or entrepreneur who is struggling with how to bring new technologies to the market. Alliance participation is a valuable tool to help these leaders achieve their vision. This paper examines the motivations behind the use of alliances as a means for organizations of all kinds to promote and realize their goals and objectives.

How MIPI is aiming to change the future of the connected car

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in September 2016 announced a new Federal Automated Vehicles Policy “…to help facilitate the responsible introduction of automated vehicles to make transportation safer, cleaner, more accessible, and more efficient.” 

In a report dated September 29, 2016, Gartner shared “The production of new automobiles equipped with data connectivity, either through a built-in communications module or by a tether to a mobile device, is forecasted to reach 12.4 million in 2016 and increase to 61 million in 2020.” Gartner defines the connected car as “an automobile that is capable of bidirectional wireless communication with an external network for the purpose of delivering digital content and services, transmitting telemetry data from the vehicle, enabling remote monitoring and control, or managing in-vehicle systems.”

The Thread Group and Fairhair Alliance Create Liaison Agreement

The Thread Group and Fairhair Alliance recently announced that they are collaborating to provide a secure and interoperable IP-based networking infrastructure solution for commercial buildings. The organizations will explore opportunities to collaborate on technical specifications, security, service discovery requirements and network management in order to advance connectivity and interoperability.

The VoiceXML Forum Announces the Public Launch of the VoiceXML 2.1 Developer Certification Exam

The VoiceXML Forum has announced the launch of the VoiceXML 2.1 competency-based certification for IVR developers. VoiceXML developers will be able to attest to their skills and expertise within the IVR community and to potential employers.

The VoiceXML Forum is the global industry leader that works to accelerate the adoption of VoiceXML and adjacent technologies since its inception in 1999. The Forum’s Education Committee selected the most experienced industry leaders to create a comprehensive test for true professionals in VoiceXML development. All material has been thoroughly tested on VoiceXML 2.1-certified platforms to ensure compliance.

This Certification Exam expands upon a previous developer certification offered by the Forum to match the evolution of industry standards in the following ways:

• VoiceXML 2.0 test material has been greatly expanded and revised for clarity
• Extended to cover VoiceXML 2.1 through comprehensive inclusion of assertions relating to material from the VoiceXML 2.1 specification
• Includes updated content reflecting the final draft specifications for the CCXML, SRGS, SISR, and SSML specifications.

ISTO Successfully Passes Audit for 2015

The 2015 audit for ISTO and its programs have been successfully completed. All entities received an unmodified or “clean” opinion.

An unmodified opinion states that the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position, results of operations, and cash flows of the entity in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

This has been the 14th consecutive year that ISTO has been issued a clean opinion by our auditors. The 2015 Financial Statements were audited by the Audit firm of WithumSmith+Brown.  

ISTO Director Yatin Trivedi Receives the Ron Waxman Design Automation Standards Committee Meritorious Service Award

Yatin Trivedi, an ISTO Director, is the 2016 Ron Waxman Design Automation Standards Committee (DASC) Meritorious Service Award recipient. Presented at the 2016 IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) Awards Banquet, the annual Ron Waxman DASC Meritorious Service Award recognizes commendable accomplishments by DASC members.

IEEE-SA awards are bestowed upon eligible individuals, IEEE-SA members, and/or member organizations. For additional information visit the IEEE-SA Awards webpage.

The Connected Lighting Alliance accomplishes its mission and dissolves its organization

The Connected Lighting Alliance (TCLA), the primary advocate of wireless lighting connectivity, announced today that is has accomplished its goal of converging the lighting industry in support of the use of open protocols for wireless lighting solutions.

Having looked at a wide variety of open protocols, TCLA has now endorsed ZigBee 3.0 for consumer applications and identified the Thread Group as the organization to develop a suitable network-layer protocol for indoor professional lighting applications. As such, the members of TCLA have agreed to dissolve the organization by the 31 December 2016. Their work and vision for interoperable wireless lighting solutions will continue at TCLA's partner organizations: the ZigBee Alliance, the Thread Group, and the Fairhair Alliance. 

Best practices for Choosing the name and logo for a group of cooperating companies

By Menno Treffers, Chairman of the Wireless Power Consortium

Each new industry standards group will need a name, a logo, and a website. What are good names and logos? How to find them, design them? And a subtle but profound question: will the industry standard created by the group have the same name and logo as the organization?

I helped create the name for a couple of industry groups, often under severe time pressure. It is not really necessary to have a name before the group is founded but it helps. If you start without a name the participants will make up a descriptive name (“the near-field high data rate communication interface group”, get tired of writing the full name and switch to using the acronym (“NFHDRC”). If the group does not chose a proper name quickly they will be stuck forever with an awkward acronym.

Recent ISTO Program News

Fairhair Alliance

• 10 November 2016 - Fairhair Alliance and the ZigBee Alliance Sign Liaison Agreement
• 29 July 2016 - The Fairhair Alliance and the OpenAIS Project sign a liaison agreement

MIPI Alliance

• MIPI DevCon Presentations
• 21 October 2016 - MIPI Alliance Announces 2016 Membership Awards
• 26 September 2016 - Sensors come home
• 21 September 2016 - MIPI: Not Just Mobile Any More

OpenCAPI Consortium

• 2 November 2016 - OpenCAPI Discussed On “This Week In HPC” Podcast

OpenPOWER Foundation

• 15 November 2016 - Supermicro and IBM Extend Strategic Relationship to Deliver Choice and Flexibility for the Next Generation Cloud Datacenter

Printer Working Group

• 18 November - PWG November 2016 Face-to-Face Meeting Summary

TagVault.org

• 10 November 2016 - TagVault.org announces that the Department of Defense (DoD) IT Standards Registry now lists Software ID Tags, as defined in ISO/IEC Standard 19770-2, as MANDATORY

Wireless Power Consortium

• 21 November 2016 - iHome Joins the WPC and Announces New Alarm Clock Delivering Hassle Free Wireless Charging for Qi Compatible Android Devices

Zhaga Consortium

• 8 December 2016 - Zhaga publishes Edition 1.4 of Book 7 for linear and square LED modules
• 18 November 2016 - Test labs appointed for Book 15
• 14 November 2016 - Zhaga approves Book 15 specification for use by members
• 26 September 2016 - Zhaga publishes Book 11 Edition 1.1 and appoints test labs

Upcoming ISTO Program Events

MIPI Alliance

• 6 January 2017 - MIPI Alliance Community Reception at CES
• 27-31 March 2017 - MIPI Member Meeting Europe #44, Hilton Barcelona 

Printer Working Group

• 14-15 February 2017 - February 2017 Face-to-Face Meeting
• 25-27 April 2017 - April 2017 Face-to-Face Meeting

About ISTO

ISTO is the premier trusted partner of the global technology community for the development, adoption, and certification of industry standards and emerging technologies. Its mission is to facilitate the life cycle of industry standards development through a dedicated staff committed to neutrality, quality support and member satisfaction.

Fostering the market acceptance, adoption and implementation of standardized technologies, programs of ISTO Federation span the spectrum of today’s information and communications technologies. ISTO is the recipient of the 2010 Tenzing Norgay Interoperability Achievement Award, which recognizes success in driving market acceptance, adoption and implementation of standardized technologies. For more information, visit the ISTO website.

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