The business benefit of standards

· An interesting chal lenge is currently in vogue : " Is there a business benef i t to standards?" First, a resounding a n s w e r to the question: Yes! Then a n assertion: "for most people and organizations in the va lue chain, the business benef i t of open standards is , and remains , l a t e n t . " Turning the benef i t from latent to rea l i s up to you. I f you don't do that, i t i s like m collecting only part of your company's outstanding invo ices . Now for the quest ions: Who benef i ts? How do they benefit? Why is there s o much skeptic ism about standards? Where does it a l l go wrong? What should w e do to really gain business benefit from standards? The purpose of this ar t ic le i s to offer convincing, and possibly compel l ing, answers to these questions. irst the standard definition. All standards articles, good or bad, seem to require an opening definition in order to begin. I join in the craze only because it is necessary (which is probably why all of the other articles do the same). The reason that it is needed is simple: public perceptions and available definitions are so widely varying that both international standards AND proprietary interfaces, along with every possible variant in between, are believed to be "standards." As an aside, we should ask ourselves who is to blame for this appalling state of affairs? We--the entire information technology industry--are. We allow the label "standard'' to be applied, often blatantly misapplied, to any product, without question or challenge. (While it is easy--and appealing--to blame "marketing" for this, it is just as true of the technical side of the house.) We will continue to confuse buyers of our products and services---or even our concepts--as long as we allow it to continue. Let's get a grip on the problem and make a strong start. I offer the following (and oft cited) definition.