The chairman of the European Electronic Messaging Association, Avi Corfas, has outlined a three-pronged initiative to promote the growth of electronic messaging in Europe. Corfas seeks to promote the Internet as a commercially viable means of conducting Electronic Data Interchange, encourage co-operation between the world’s four Messaging Associations, and expanding the Association’s corporate membership. Corfas’ group is working with the Internet Society, service providers and consultants to help the Internet to grow beyond the realms of academia and the enthusiast. One suggestion to achieve this is to provide interconnection offerings for operation between the Internet and X.400 messaging environments. In a bid to expand membership, Corfas’ European Association will make all executive reports it produces available on the World-Wide Web, Internet and X.400. Corfas expects that electronic business communications will destroy business red-tape, with cross-border trade growing in proportion to the number of European businesses adopting electronic mail and electronic data interchange.
Catalyst
He claims his group’s information base and knowledge can make it a catalyst for this process. As regards global co-operation, there are no immediate plans to establish any formal organisation. However, the Association, Electronic Messaging Association, Japan Electronic Messaging Association and Electronic Messaging Association of Australia will continue to co-ordinate activities through meetings and member-staff contact. Each of the associations will champion an important messaging issue, without trying to establish leadership over the other three associations. The Europeans will champion directories issues and Electronic Messengers will handle electronic commerce, with the other two associations championing an issue by the end of 1995. They will jointly publish a Global Guide To Messaging Products And Services, which will be released by January 1995 and is planned to be circulated worldwide.
