OMG Introduces the Model Driven Architecture FastStart Program

Business Wire, June 10, 2003

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

NEEDHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 10, 2003

The Object Management Group(TM) (OMG(TM)) announces the MDA FastStart(TM) Program, a new way to help IT organizations jumpstart their use of OMG's Model Driven Architecture(R). Based on recent findings that numerous companies are interested in deploying MDA but are looking for outside assistance to get started, OMG has created the MDA FastStart Program. MDA FastStart helps companies locate experienced service providers who can help them start using MDA quickly, and at a reasonable cost. "The MDA FastStart Program is an exciting development for OMG and its members. Organizations interested in implementing an MDA solution and evaluating their corporate processes for effectiveness, have a one-stop source for assistance through the FastStart Program," said OMG President and COO Bill Hoffman.

OMG's MDA is a powerful way to model enterprise architectures that fully exploits the popular Unified Modeling Language(TM) (UML(TM)), already the industry standard for application design. For the first time, MDA provides a standardized way to clearly separate all the fundamental logic behind an enterprise-level specification from the specifics of the particular middleware, messaging and programming languages - CORBA(R), Web Services, Java, XML, etc. - that are used to implement it. Using MDA, IT organizations meet the integration challenges posed by new platforms, while preserving and upgrading their investments in existing platforms.

OMG Program Director Michael Guttman leads the MDA FastStart Program. Mr. Guttman is an MDA pioneer with extensive experience consulting to IT organizations in the architecture, design, development and deployment of large-scale complex enterprise software systems and infrastructures. For MDA FastStart, Mr. Guttman and his staff have been working with industry experts to design a standardized services program, and to identify and work with service providers qualified to deliver that program. As end-user organizations request MDA educational and consulting services, the MDA FastStart Program Office will refer them to those experienced providers. End-user companies requesting MDA FastStart services choose among the participating providers who will offer highly qualified sources of mentorship, training and implementation support in addition to their MDA expertise.

According to Guttman, "MDA works best when you use it systematically across the enterprise, but you have to start somewhere. We've created the MDA FastStart program to make sure that MDA end-users requesting help from the OMG can find the qualified service providers they need to begin to deploy MDA as quickly as possible. At the same time, this should help accelerate the market for both MDA services and MDA tools. It's a win-win approach for everyone."

Interested end-users and potential MDA service providers are encouraged to find out more information by visiting http://www.omg.org/fast-start/.> About The OMG

With well-established standards covering software from design and development, through deployment and maintenance, and extending to evolution to future platforms, the Object Management Group (OMG) supports a full-lifecycle approach to enterprise integration which maximizes ROI, the key to successful IT. OMG's standards cover multiple operating systems, programming languages, middleware and networking infrastructures, and software development environments. OMG's Modeling standards, the basis for the MDA, include the Unified Modeling Language (UML) and Common Warehouse Metamodel (CWM). CORBA, the Common Object Request Broker Architecture, is OMG's standard open platform with hundreds of millions of deployments running today.

Headquartered in Needham, MA, USA, with a U.S. government representative in Washington, DC, and international marketing representatives in Japan, the UK, and Germany, the Object Management Group is an international, open membership, not-for-profit computer industry specifications consortium. OMG member companies write, adopt, and maintain the organization's standards following a mature, open process. All current OMG specifications may be downloaded without charge from the organization's website, www.omg.org; the site also provides additional information about OMG and its activities. For information on joining the OMG, or questions not addressed on the website, please contact OMG headquarters by email at info@omg.org, by phone at 1-781-444 0404, or by fax at 1-781-444 0320.

Note to editors: The OMG Object Management Group Logo(R), MDA(R), Model Driven Architecture(R), CORBA(R), CORBA Academy(R), The Information Brokerage(R), XMI(R) and IIOP(R) are registered trademarks of the Object Management Group. OMG(TM), Object Management Group(TM), CORBA logos(TM), OMG Interface Definition Language (IDL)(TM), The Architecture of Choice for a Changing World(TM), CORBAservices(TM), CORBAfacilities(TM), CORBAmed(TM), CORBAnet(TM), Integrate 2002(TM), Middleware That's Everywhere(TM), FastStart(TM), UML(TM), Unified Modeling Language(TM), The UML Cube logo(TM), MOF(TM), CWM(TM), The CWM Logo(TM), Model Driven Architecture Logos(TM) and the XMI Logo(TM) are trademarks of the Object Management Group. All other products or company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only, and may be trademarks of their respective owners.