Things are tough these days for associations. I still belong to one, but I’m only peripherally involved for a few years. We’ve witnessed consolidation of the industrial networking and fieldbus organizations. This announcement notes the finalization of yet another pair of associations only a year following a consolidation within one of the pair.
I wrote in February 2024, Two major sources of technology buzz from around 2015 to 2020 or so found homes in industry consortia within The Object Management Group. I talked often with people from the IIC, aka Industry IoT Consortium, and with the Digital Twin Consortium. These were most likely too much overhead for the supporting suppliers and industry. They have merged under The Object Management Group.
Again I wrote just a few weeks ago, EDM Council and Object Management Group Combine to Create Global End-to-End Data and Standards Authority. First-of-its-kind non-profit trade association to foster the growth of data, software, systems, knowledge engineering, and standards capability.
And now we have the announcement regarding the successful completion of this consolidation. One paragraph talks of the acquisition of the assets, while another discusses the acquisition of the organization. Regardless, companies supporting all the efforts now only have one set of dues to pay.
EDM Association, the global trade association for data management and technology standards, announces the successful completion of its acquisition of the assets of the Object Management Group (OMG), the open membership, not-for-profit technology consortium. This unites two organizations with complementary expertise, creating the world’s largest association for data, software, systems, and standards professionals.
The acquisition strategically aligns OMG’s globally adopted standards, frameworks, and communities—including the OMG Standards Development Organization (SDO), Digital Twin Consortium, AREA (Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance), and CISQ (Consortium for Information and Software Quality)—with EDM Association’s data management best practices and professional development programs. By leveraging a single authoritative standards partner and global expert community, members will have a wider range of tools, support, training and expertise to advance data and technology, including AI, to drive better outcomes for their organizations.
Key Benefits of the Acquisition:
- A streamlined global trade association and authoritative partner linking data, technology, and standards to accelerate business transformation, AI adoption and best practices.
- Expanded access to globally recognized standards, with pathways to ISO, through a neutral sandbox for innovation.
- New professional development and certification opportunities that strengthen competitiveness in the AI and digital era.
- Enhanced collaboration through communities of practice, connecting world-class data management with cross-disciplinary engineering, technology, and standards expertise.
