Wayland, Mass., February 20, 2004 – Open GIS Consortium Inc. (OGC) members have implemented a new, automated compliance testing process to validate compliance for software products that implement OpenGIS® Specifications. Since last fall's launch of the Compliance and Interoperability Test and Evaluation (CITE) project, dozens of organizations have used this process, resulting in ten products earning the use of the “Certified OGC Compliant” mark. OGC compliance certification is an important milestone for software providers, as it assures users that products properly implement OpenGIS Specifications.The OGC compliance website ( http://www.opengeospatial.org/resource/testing ) provides automated tests for Web Map Service 1.1.1 (WMS) and Web Feature Service 1.0 (WFS), and a Geography Markup Language (GML) validation tool with links to reference implementations. Developers that successfully test for specification compliance can apply for formal OGC certification. Once granted, developers can affix the “Certified OGC Compliant” seal on their products and marketing materials.Martin Daly, technical director of Cadcorp, a company with 10 compliant products among its offerings, used the automated testing procedures to certify that three products comply with WMS and WFS. “As a long-time advocate of compliance testing, Cadcorp applauds the support of the sponsors, and the contributions of the members, to the CITE Initiative in which the tests and other resources were developed. The crowning glory of the program is that a general online testing framework is now in place that can be easily extended for each new OGC Web Service Specification that is adopted, bringing OGC compliance testing and certification into the mainstream geospatial information arena.”Compliance testing determines the ability of a product to properly support all mandatory elements of an OpenGIS Implementation specification. Only products that have successfully passed a test, and fulfilled administrative requirements for certification can include “Certified OGC Compliant” mark. Products that have not gone through this procedure, but include support for a specification, are said to have “implemented the specification,” and cannot claim compliance. To confirm product compliance, please visit http://www.opengeospatial.org/resource/products.OGC is an international industry consortium of more than 250 companies, government agencies and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available interface specifications. OpenGIS Specifications support interoperable solutions that “geo-enable” the Web, wireless and location-based services, and mainstream IT. The specifications empower technology developers to make complex spatial information and services accessible and useful with all kinds of applications. Visit the OGC website at http://www.opengeospatial.org .– end –“