In an increasingly interconnected global economy, business data is transmitted in many languages, on many platforms and in a wide variety of formats. Similar data can have different nuances, different contexts and different forms. To address this proliferating disarray of data, ASC X12 created the Context Inspired Component Architecture. CICA organizes and structures data so that it is reusable, predictable, and understandable to your business and all your trading partners.

CICA streamlines data exchange by providing a single dictionary or repository for structuring your messages and simplifying the definition, translation and transmission of your business data. CICA is based on a linguistic foundation of business terms and semantic components that are intuitive to the business user, populating your implementations with reusable code and leveraging your trading partner investments. It enables your organization to merge multiple vocabularies for divergent business needs into one framework for all types of business messages.

CICA is in full production designing the next generation of EDI business processes and messages. The standards body, the government, and private industry are using CICA to design components for their organizations. Each group is organizing their data into sensible-size, reusable chunks that are enabling effective, efficient business communications.

The National Council for Prescription Drug Programs, Inc. (NCPDP), the Association Data Standards Consortium (ADSC) and the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) are just a few of the other standards organizations and trade associations looking to take advantage of CICA. Representatives from these industry organizations have participated in CICA training sessions and currently evaluating the use of CICA within their standards work. As other organizations begin to work within the disciple of the architecture, the pool of potential components useable to all organizations is exponentially increased.

This year, ASC X12 celebrates 25 years of building and managing the American standard for EDI. ASC X12 is using the experience of the past two decades as a foundation for producing a solution for the next generation that can revolutionize the design and deployment of business processes. For every organization, big or small, the advantages of CICA are tangible and compelling – reduced costs, improved forms of data sharing, enhanced business processes, and new revenue-generating opportunities.

For more information on CICA, call (703) 970-4480 or e-mail cicahelp@disa.org.

Ralph Berwanger is Chairman of ASC X12 and a consultant with FOX Systems, Inc. He can be reached at ralph.berwanger@foxsys.com.