Web Services Interoperability Organization, WS-I, Announces Newest Members, Alcatel-Lucent and Drummond Group

Business Wire, March 5, 2007

WAKEFIELD, Mass. -- Alcatel-Lucent (www.alcatel-lucent.com) and Drummond Group Inc. (www.drummondgroup.com) have joined the Web Services Interoperability Organization (WS-I; www.ws-i.org) as Contributing Members, the group announced today. Also during the last quarter, Axway (www.axway.com) rejoined WS-I as a Contributing Member.

WS-I is an open industry organization whose members promote Web services interoperability across platforms, operating systems and programming languages.

"WS-I continues to create valuable deliverables that are broadly adopted in the industry. We are delighted to have two new members as prominent and diverse as Alcatel-Lucent and the Drummond Group join the organization," said Michael Bechauf, chairman of WS-I. "The special expertise of these two companies -- one a top global communications solutions provider and the other a leading interoperability testing organization -- will greatly enhance the organization's impact, as will Axway's return as a Contributing Member."

More information on the three companies follows:

* Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) provides solutions that enable service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end users.

* Drummond Group Inc. (DGI), a global leader in B2B software testing and certification, works with software vendors, industry associations, supply chains and the standards community by conducting interoperability and conformance testing on open standards, publishing related strategic research and developing vertical industry strategies.

* Axway is the leading global provider of Collaborative Business Solutions. Axway's solutions feature a highly flexible integration and B2B framework, analytics, services, and customized applications for the financial services and life sciences industries.

Unlike standards development organizations that create Web services standards, such as OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards) and W3C (World Wide Web Consortium), WS-I plays the unique role of "standards integrator," to assist developers in creating Web services that are both standards-compliant and that can be widely deployed on various Web Services platforms in the industry. WS-I profiles, available at no charge from www-ws-i.org, guide developers in how to interpret Web services specifications to attain optimal interoperability.

WS-I's 80-plus members are drawn from 12 countries and all industry sectors. Membership is open to any company or organization interested in contributing to Web services interoperability. Current members include software and hardware vendors, companies that are building or deploying Web services, and standards development organizations.

Benefits of membership in WS-I include the opportunity to influence the WS-I agenda by submitting real-world interoperability requirements, to influence industry direction by participating in the development of interoperability guidelines, to gain competitive advantage through early access to WS-I deliverables, and to collaborate and network with industry leaders and influencers. WS-I offers a range of membership choices; organizations may join as Contributing Members, Associate Members, or as Advocates. For more information, see http://www.virtualmgmt.com/nfc-forum/data/ipodregistrations.txt.> WS-I also offers non-membership participation and support programs. For more information, visit www.ws-i.org.

About WS-I

WS-I is an open, industry organization chartered to promote Web services interoperability across platforms, operating systems, and programming languages. The organization unites a diverse community of Web services companies to provide guidance, recommended practices and supporting resources for developing interoperable Web services. For more information, visit www.ws-i.org or email info@ws-i.org.