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Specifications

In today's digital age, the need for secure, efficient, and interoperable data exchange is more critical than ever. eDelivery is a comprehensive framework designed to facilitate seamless digital data exchange across the European Union, connecting public administrations, businesses, and citizens. Developed in collaboration with leading Standards Developing Organisations (SDOs) such as OASIS and ETSI, eDelivery's specifications are tailored to meet the unique needs of any digital ecosystem. These specifications (standards) are widely adopted in various ecosystems and by both public authorities and private entities, and software industry. 

Standards (specifications) play a crucial role in the creation of systems as they provide a consistent framework that ensures compatibility, reliability, and efficiency. By adhering to established standards, developers can create systems that interoperate with other systems, reducing the risk of integration issues and enhancing overall functionality. Standards also promote best practices, ensuring that systems are built with quality and security in mind. Furthermore, they facilitate communication and collaboration among different teams and stakeholders, as everyone follows the same guidelines and expectations. Ultimately, the use of standards in systems creation leads to more robust, scalable, and maintainable solutions, benefiting both developers and end-users. 

The technical specifications are a part of eDelivery Value Offering Canvas. eDelivery technical specifications define common rules and guidelines for secure, efficient, interoperable and reliable data exchange between different IT systems and organisations (administrations, businesses and citizens). 

eDelivery uses "profiles" to tailor and refine international standards for specific use within its ecosystem, ensuring seamless interoperability. These profiles adapt the standards to fit the specific needs of eDelivery, establishing trust and compatibility between various systems and organisations. eDelivery standards profiles detail the implementation of the specific standards (see below) to ensure that different systems can communicate easily by following the same set of rules and guidelines. 

The eDelivery framework is based on three main sets of specifications and profiles: 

  1. eDelivery AS4 specifications: These support the secure and payload-agnostic exchange of data using web services through Access Points that serve as gateways for sending and receiving messages over the Internet or private networks. Conformance Profile, the AS4 specifications ensure that data can be exchanged securely over the Internet or private networks. The eDelivery AS4 specifications are based on the ebMS3 (ebXML Messaging version 3.0) standard of OASIS and its AS4 (Applicability Statement 4) Conformance Profile. 
  2. eDelivery SMP (Service Metadata Publisher) specifications: The SMP specifications allow participants in an eDelivery network to publish metadata about their services, enabling others to discover how to communicate with them. This process ensures that different systems can interact seamlessly. The eDelivery SMP specifications are based on the OASIS SMP version 2.0 standard. 
  3. eDelivery SML (Service Metadata Locator) specifications: The eDelivery SML specifications provide a directory service that maps participant identifiers to their corresponding SMPs. This enables systems to look up the SMPs given an identity of a data recipient to discover their corresponding metadata, such as the Access Point’s URL and business capabilities. The SML specifications consist of two profiles: the eDelivery BDXL profile and the eDelivery ebCore Party ID profile. The eDelivery BDXL profile is based on the Business Document Metadata Service Location Version 1.0 from OASIS, and the eDelivery ebCore Party ID profile is based on the OASIS ebCore Party Id Type Technical specification. 

In addition to the development and maintenance of the specifications, eDelivery continuously monitors standards set by standardisation organisations (SOs) and actively contributes to their development. This ensures that the eDelivery framework remains aligned with international standards and adapts to evolving industry needs. 


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