HL Deb 19 November 1985 vol 468 cc542-3WA
The Earl of Bessborough

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will state their views on information technology standards with special reference to Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) and Systems Network Architecture (SNA).

Lord Lucas of Chilworth

The Focus Committee chaired by Mr. John Butcher, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Trade and Industry, identified Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) as a high priority for standardisation in the field of information technology. OSI allows interworking between equipment from different suppliers and hence encourages competition and open markets.

The department's IT Standards Unit is active in encouraging the take-up of OSI both by uses and suppliers. The Government are also fully supporting the European Community's programme to develop functional standards based on internationally agreed OSI standards. OSI standards are being increasingly specified in public procurement following the Statement of Intent published last year by the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency.

Systems Network Architecture (SNA) is the proprietary architecture of International Business Machines (IBM) which supports the interworking of IBM products. Her Majesty's Government's policy is to encourage the placing of proprietary architectures, such as SNA, in the public domain and their migration towards full conformance with OSI as rapidly as possible.