Interoperability. It still is a cool word. Nice one for Scrabble too. Lots of points in there. And it’s a very welcome guest on the E-invoicing Platform. Let’s solve the e-invoicing interoperability issues! or An E-invoicing Model Interoperability Agreement. Ellen Leith, editor at AP News, touches upon the subject in an interview with Luke McKeever. You know, OB10’s CEO. And it’s a delicate subject for his company, because not everybody is convinced of OB10’s commitment to interoperability. This is what Luke has to say about the matter.
So – we’re talking about the evolution of e-invoicing and how it’s developing and growing – where does that leave OB10 when it comes to interoperability? Some people have accused you of sitting on the fence – what do you say to that?
Well, I think it suits some people to say that. Perhaps if we weren’t able to defend our stance I’d be worried, but I think our commitment to interoperability is clear. As it stands we already interoperate with 30 different service providers in Europe. At the moment the level of transactions is tiny – but in the next five years it’s going to be a big deal for us and other networks. It’s important that we set core standards around compliance that all the vendors must adhere to – which is one of the reasons European E-invoicing Service Providers Association (EESPA) was formed. This isn’t about forming some sort of cartel, it’s about finding ways to sensibly drive the adoption of e-invoicing across Europe. In fact, I’ve often thought that as the industry develops, EESPA could morph into an association for good practice – i.e. being a member means you adhere to industry standards.
Do you blame a lack of interoperability on the relatively slow take up of e-invoicing? If not that – what do you blame?
It’s not interoperability. Some of the blame has to lie with the solution providers (ourselves included) not being as helpful as we could have been with adoption in the past. Couple that with a lack of education as to the supplier benefits – and that’s going to slow growth. But, I think we’ve grown up over the last few years and we’re now much more assured in our guidance and best practice – driving up adoption rates at unprecedented levels. That doesn’t mean we don’t still have flexibility – we just know what works now and we’re not afraid to say so, meaning the time to success for our clients has dramatically reduced.
Read the complete article here.
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