Considerable progress is being made worldwide in the standardisation of conformance testing and the mutual recognition of certificates issued by accredited testing authorities. There is as yet no universal system of recognition in place and there are clear risks of incompatibility when products are purchased from different suppliers. In addition there are no third party testing centres in Australia at this time. Therefore consideration needs to be given to approaches which would ensure that products developed by Australian industry are not disadvantaged when competing with overseas suppliers for Victorian Government business. At present, there is little demand for local testing.
Interoperability is recommended as a component of the acceptance testing procedures.
Interoperability tests should cover existing systems in addition to new systems but care needs to be exercised in interpreting such test suites. Given that the field of testing is changing rapidly, a degree of flexibility will be maintained and the rules amended as necessary, in consultation with departments and industry and in accord with accepted practice both in Australia and overseas. As this area matures, the ability to have accredited certification of OSI products may become a significant advantage in simplifying procurement as compared with the traditional individual procurement testing normally associated with proprietary solutions. Industry initiatives on interoperability testing through OSIcom and OSIone are noted and should be of assistance.