Open Platform 3.0™ Forum Members' Meeting
Objective of Meeting
The purpose of the meeting was to progress the work of the Open Platform 3.0 Forum, and specifically to discuss:
- Cognitive Computing
- Digital Transformation
- Information Systems Architecture
- Threat Analysis of an Open Platform 3.0 Scenario
- OpenID Connect and Access Control
- Executable Standards and Open Platform 3.0
- Advanced Timing
- Agenda for Berlin Members' Meeting
Summary
The meeting was held on Thursday, February 2. (The sessions originally scheduled for Monday, January 30 were cancelled, to enable members to attend the conference streams, and their topics were moved to the Thursday.) The first session of the day was held jointly with the Security Forum, and was devoted to discussion of a Threat Analysis of an Open Platform 3.0 Scenario, and OpenID Connect and Access Control. The other topics were discussed in the remaining three sessions of the day.
Cognitive Computing
The original Open Platform 3.0 Forum scope included Social, Mobile, and Cloud Computing, Big Data, and the Internet of Things. It was intended that other new technologies should be considered as they became mature. Cognitive Computing was identified then as the first potential such technology, and is now gaining in maturity. The meeting discussed whether the time had now come to include Cognitive Computing in the scope of the Open Platform 3.0 Forum, and identified a number of cognitive computing areas that the Forum might address.
Digital Transformation
The Digital Business Strategy and Customer Experience Work Group, a joint Work Group of the Open Platform 3.0 Forum and the Architecture Forum, is developing an improved description of its activities, as a basis for a call for participation.
Information Systems Architecture
The Architecture Forum is developing an Information Architecture Guide, and may further develop a standard Information Architecture model, as a supplement to the TOGAF® standard. The meeting was given an update on this work.
A potential information systems model based on Data Lake concepts and incorporating distribution and access control was discussed.
Threat Analysis of an Open Platform 3.0 Scenario
The meeting reviewed a scenario at an outline level, and discussed possibilities for the development of a threat agent library.
OpenID Connect and Access Control
OpenID Connect is an important technology for authentication as a basis for access control. The question was raised of whether it is strong enough for military and other highly sensitive applications.
Executable Standards and Open Platform 3.0
Executable Standards are a possible strategic direction for The Open Group. The concept had previously been discussed by the Forum, particularly with regard to the potential of OpenStack being part of the platform standard.
An analysis of OpenStack produced by one of the Forum members was reviewed. It was agreed that OpenStack delivers a part of the capabilities required for Open Platform 3.0, but not all of them. It is very much at the infrastructure level; Cloud Foundry, which is at the platform level, is perhaps more relevant to Open Platform 3.0 capabilities. Also, OpenStack and Cloud Foundry are oriented towards server platforms, while Open Platform 3.0 should also cover platforms of other kinds, including for small devices.
Advanced Timing
The financial services industry needs better timing than it currently has. This does not necessarily imply a new hardware standard. The Forum should seek to understand how, when an accurate time signal is presented to a computer, the software applications in that computer can use the signal accurately.
Agenda for Berlin Members' Meeting
A number of topics were identified for discussion in the members’ meeting at the Berlin event in April.
Outputs
This summary and the detailed minutes (available to members only) are the outputs of the meeting.
Next Steps
The Forum will:
- Carefully consider the establishment of a Cognitive Computing activity
- Contribute, with the Architecture Forum, to the definition of the future work program of the Digital Business Strategy and Customer Experience Work Group
- Plan to hold a joint meeting with the Architecture Forum at the Berlin event to discuss Information Systems Architecture
- Continue, jointly with the Security Forum, to consider the development of a threat analysis of an Open Platform 3.0 scenario
- Further consider the use of OpenID Connect for authentication as a basis for access control
- Continue to develop the concepts of Open Platform 3.0 from the top down, while comparing it with bottom-up capability implementations such as OpenStack and Cloud Foundry
- Continue its investigation of advanced timing platform capabilities for use by applications
- Meet at the Berlin event to discuss the topics it identified for that meeting