Information technology 25th Plenary meeting in Belfast
Delegates at the November 8-13 Plenary meeting of ISO/IEC JTC 1 co-hosted by BSI and NSAI
The International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission Joint Technical Committee on Information Technology held its 25th Plenary meeting in Belfast under the joint hosting of the British Standards Institution and the National Standards Authority of Ireland.
The ISO/IEC JTC 1 annual Plenary meeting reviews all work undertaken by specialist subcommittees and subgroups within its remit and fixes the work programme and strategic direction for the coming year in relation to standardization for information technology. It is hosted by a National Body (ISO Member/IEC National Committee) of JTC 1.
Information technology encompasses the specification, design, and development of systems and tools dealing with the capture, representation, processing, security, transfer, interchange, presentation, management, organization, storage, and retrieval of information.
JTC 1 has been responsible for developing standards that provide organizations with frameworks for managing their IT assets and the security of their information (an area of increasing importance in a digital world), and addressing the challenge of emerging identity management technologies (biometrics, radio-frequency identification).
JTC 1 has also helped to define the multi-media file formats that are used in digital cameras and mp3 players. Interoperability of systems – hardware, middleware, and software – has been the defining requirement.
The 2010 meeting was jointly hosted in Belfast by two National Bodies, BSI and NSAI, which are participating in the work through their respective national mirror groups for the area.
It focused in particular on such things as ‘Green IT’, including the energy efficiency of data centres, and examined the implications of hosting information - and procuring IT services - via ‘the cloud’, that is, virtually, as opposed to through one’s own fixed asset, and digital rights management, a highly topical matter for content providers.
Microsoft, which this year is celebrating 25 years of its establishment in Ireland, both North and South, was a Platinum Sponsor for the meeting, providing a Gala Dinner in the City Hall; and a business lunch, providing the opportunity of exchanges with local ICT industrial concerns, was provided by InterTrade Ireland with assistance from Invest NI and Enterprise Ireland. The meeting attracted almost 150 delegates from 27 countries.
Participation in ISO/IEC JTC 1 in Ireland is through NSAI’s Information and Communications Technology Standards Consultative Committee.
Contact details for further information:
Dr. Ian Cowan, NSAI
