The Electronic Business using eXtensible Markup Language (ebXML) project was started in 1999, jointly by OASIS and UN/CEFACT (the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business). Its aim is to provide a modular suite of specifications that enable enterprises of any size and in any location to conduct business over the Internet.

The original project envisioned and delivered five layers of substantive data specification, including XML standards for:

• business processes
• core data components
• collaboration protocol agreements
• messaging
• registries and repositories.

Resources, news, tools, case studies and other information about ebXML can be found at http://www.ebxml.org/