What is the mission of the OASIS WS-I Member Section?

WS-I is a Member Section within the OASIS open standards consortium that advances Best Practices for Web services interoperability, for selected groups of Web services standards, across multiple platforms, operating systems and programming languages.

Who participates in OASIS WS-I and what do they do?

OASIS WS-I comprises a diverse community of Web services leaders from a wide range of organizations around the world. OASIS WS-I Technical Committees maintain Profiles and supporting Testing Tools based on Best Practices for the selected groups of Web services standards. The Profiles and Testing Tools are available for use by the Web services community to aid in developing and deploying interoperable Web services.

Can anyone join OASIS WS-I?

Yes. We encourage organizations and individuals interested in helping to establish Best Practices for Web Services to participate in WS-I through OASIS membership. (If you are employed by an OASIS member organization, you may participate in WS-I for no additional dues or fees.) Contact join@oasis-open.org for details.

Isn't WS-I just for large global organizations?

No. Organizations of all sizes as well as individuals are welcome to participate in this work.

Why should my organization participate in OASIS WS-I?

Participation in OASIS WS-I enables your organization to: advance Profiles and other materials to support Web services Best Practices and standards interoperability; provide your organization's business scenarios and requirements to OASIS WS-I Technical Committees to influence future Profile development;interact with key vendors and service providers who also participate in OASIS WS-I; and access WS-I deliverables prior to public release. OASIS also provides opportunities for members to learn about new industry developments, network with each other, and uncover new business opportunities.

What are the WS-I Profiles and what is their purpose?

Profiles are guidelines based on Best Practices for the selected groups of Web services standards to assist the Web services community in developing and deploying interoperable Web services. They are available to the public for download at no charge.

Which WS-I Profiles have been completed?

The key WS-I Profiles are:

• Basic Profile 1.0 and 1.1, which establishes core Web services specifications (SOAP, WSDL, UDDI, XML Schema, HTTPS) that should be used together to develop interoperable Web services.
• Attachments Profile 1.0, which complements the Basic Profile 1.1 to add support for interoperable SOAP Messages with attachments-based Web services.
• Simple SOAP Binding Profile, which consists of those Basic Profile 1.0 requirements related to the serialization of the envelope and its representation in the message, incorporating any errata to date.
• Basic Security Profile 1.0, an interoperability Profile that addresses transport security, SOAP message security and other security considerations, and composes with other WS-I Profiles. It references existing specifications and standards, including the OASIS Web Services Security 1.0 and SOAP Message Security 1.0 specifications, and provides clarification and guidance designed to promote interoperability of Web services created according to those specifications.

Can non-members provide input into this work?

Yes. The public is welcome to provide comments to the OASIS WS-I Technical Committees at any time. Formal public reviews are also conducted at certain stages of development. Check the Technical Committee web pages for information on these reviews.

Does OASIS certify that vendors' tools comply with WS-I Profiles?

No. The OASIS WS-I Member Section publishes publicly available Testing Tools and invites organizations to use these tools to make their own determinations on whether a service is consistent with WS-I Profiles.