Why Work in This Venue

There are many venues in which it would be possible for organizations in the oil, gas and chemicals industry to collaborate to develop applications of Semantic Web technology. Why do it in the context of a W3C Business Group? Here are some comments about other alternatives:

• W3C Working Group: Generally focused on developing technical specifications, not business applications. Membership limited to W3C members. Subject to stringent W3C process requirements. Chevron is the only company in this sector that is currently a member of the W3C.

• W3C Interest Group: Historically some interest groups have operated in a very similar manner to that anticipated by this Business Group (e.g. Health Care Life Sciences - HCLS IG), but membership in an IG is limited to W3C members and a small number of invited experts.

• W3C Community Group: Very similar to a Business Group, but the work process is expected to be carried out in public. It is anticipated that this could be a problem for many companies if the work is related to business use cases that exploit the technology. In addition, Community Groups have less commitment of staff resources, and it is anticipated that technical assistance from W3C staff will be useful in the work process of the Business Group.

• Industry Consortiums: There are many industry groups in which such work could take place, but none of them have resources available with the technical expertise in Semantic Web technology comparable to that of W3C staff and members. Semantic Web technology is difficult and sophisticated guidance is expected to be more available in the W3C context than in industry consortiums.