Analyst IDC has discovered while 70% of users believe the future of software depends on standards, few could actually name standards such as SOAP or BPEL, or major standards bodies without prompting during a survey.

Furthermore, it is not clear in many companies who is responsible for knowing about standards work. That role often falls to a single individual who has studied standards through their own initiative.

Report co-author and IDC director of web services and integration software Sandra Rogers said the report’s findings present challenge to vendors who play-up standards, such as those in web services or e-business.

It’s important for vendors to target messaging to right person, but if there is no one person or level or management who can be identified or if overall knowledge is poor, then it lengthens the selling process for IT companies.

It doesn’t meant that won’t be able to sell products, but it aids there getting to the right people and not trying to make a technology push to a business level person, Rogers said.

IDC’s report, the Future of Software Depends on Industry Standards, but not without Concerns, found customers enthusiastic about standards work. Many were actually more positive about the pace of progress than vendors actually involved in forums.

Standards help alleviate risk from purchasing and implementing IT systems, the report said.

IDC noted, though, that more than half of the 105 IT professionals surveyed believe there is an insufficient number of user organizations involved in creating standards. There is concern, too, that standards are taking too long to implement, meaning customers must either wait to buy compliant products or buy software ahead of standards ratification and risk the consequences.

However, it is customers’ knowledge of which standards exist that is possibly among IDC’s most revealing, yet unofficial, results. New and emerging standards like SOAP and BPEL were not mentioned without prompting, Rogers said.

Twenty five percent have no plans to pursue standards, a citing lack resources, budget or calling the decision to invest in technology or architectural changes based on specific technology standards a low priority.

There’s a good amount of people who need educating and prompting before we overtly start talking about standards. That’s a message for the vendor community, Rogers said.

This article is based on material originally published by ComputerWire