Profile

Since 1996, 8760 Inc. has helped utility companies leverage technological and regulatory changes to their advantage. Our founders were among the first to provide a product allowing secure, guaranteed transmission of data using the Internet. 8760 Inc.'s CreditCard Agent was the first truly plug and play credit card processing software for the Internet certified by VISANet.

Our involvement with the Gas Industry Standards Board (GISB) dates to 1997 when we signed on SONAT (now El Paso Energy) as a client. Engaged by SONAT to provide a solution to meet the requirements of the GISB (EDM) standard, 8760 Inc. embarked on the road that would lead to the ultimate development of InsideAgent®. In 1996 the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) officially endorsed GISB stating that the GISB EDM standard is "at the forefront of the use of Internet-based protocols to conduct business transactions."* Now used not only by the utility industry, but deployed across multiple industries including the automotive and health care industries, it is estimated that the GISB EDM standard is the most widely deployed EDI standard in the United States.

Since that time, 8760 Inc. has played an active role in GISB and the continued development of the GISB EDM standard. 8760 Inc. originally proposed the enhancements necessary to make the GISB EDM EDIINT AS2 compliant. The adoption by GISB of enhancements to make the GISB EDM compliant with the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) EDIINT AS2 have been approved and will be included in the version 1.5 of the GISB EDM. Jim Buccigross, Vice President-Energy Practice, is Chairman of the GISB Executive Committee, an instructor for GISB training seminars, and acts as 8760 Inc.'s representative on many GISB subcommittees and task forces.

Group 8760's involvement in the development of Internet standards is not limited to the utility industry. 8760 Inc. co-authored the ebXML's Messaging Service Specification. (8760 Inc. and Sun Microsystems were the original authors of ebXML's Packaging Specification which has been incorporated into the Messaging Service Specification.)

It was 8760 Inc.'s continued recognition as the leading expert in the field of standards and our leadership role in Internet EDI and e-commerce for utilities that lead to our selection by four of the seven electric distribution companies in Pennsylvania's deregulated marketplace. Pennsylvania Power Co., GPU Energy, Duquesne Light Company, and UGI Utilities selected 8760 Inc.'s InsideAgent® and went into production by June 30, 2000 satisfying the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission's mandate to transmit customer data according to the GISB EDM standard.

AMR Research, an industry and market analysis firm providing independent advice on e-business strategy and infrastructure, has recently published an opinion that supports 8760 Inc.’s leadership position: "Group 8760 supports the part of the infrastructure that is a critical element in the evolution of the deregulated energy business. By being part of the standards organizations, and furnishing products and services that support the new evolving standards, Group 8760 is well positioned for providing effective products that meet the demands of the market." (Source: Bob Gustafson, The AMR Alert on Utilities Applications , June 14, 2000)

*Reference: www.gisb.org