Why does Digital participate in standards?

The IT industry spends billions of dollars every year in support of standards. Companies, governments and universities send hundreds, if not thousands, of people to meetings all over the world to develop standards and define specifications for information technology. These people meet, share information, debate, discuss and even argue. Then they write the standards that define many key aspects of our industry. In an environment where technology is often considered old after only six months, the process of developing a standard can take years. So why is all this money, energy and time spent in pursuit of an often illusive and frequently imperfect solution? What is the value of this work? Why do we do it? Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) answers this question by looking at the information flows associated with the standards process. Doing so is not simply a linear process of standardization-from organization to vendor-but rather a process consisting of multiple links that include standards participants, standards organizations, the information shared within each vendor company, vendor partners and competitors, and customers. Digital believes that participating in the standardization process and using the information gathered and generated provides the company with a valuable business advantage in product planning and sales.