OSE taps neutral management firm to run the group

July 17, 2003 PISCATAWAY, N.J. - An independent management firm has been hired by the Open Security Exchange to help manage the organization that was formed earlier this year to define best practices and promote vendor neutral specifications for the integration of IT and physical security. Though a final contract has yet to be signed, the Industry Standards and Technology Organization will help the OSE with day-to-day operations, such as handling finances, member recruitment and providing a single place for people to call for information about the organization. The organization, founded by Computer Associates, HID Corp., Tyco’s Software House, Gemplus and Pinkerton, has faced skepticism from critics who questioned the true neutrality of the group since it was formed by some of the biggest names in the IT and physical security markets. "This provides assurance to the industry that the OSE is a vendor neutral environment to develop specifications and best practice guidelines," said Greg Kohn, director of industry program operations for ISTO, which is part of IEEE, a non-profit professional society for electrical and electronics engineers. Within the next month, the OSE plans to begin recruiting new members. A number of large companies in the IT and physical security market are expected to come on board shortly, said Tim Whitman, a spokesperson for Computer Associates.