Standards Management in the Twenty-First Century: Architectural Challenges and Management Opportunities

The history of modern standards development provides support for the argument that the process of standardization has evolved in response to crises and opportunities. In the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector, many new groups have become involved in standards setting. In a period of rapid change, standards development in these areas has focused primarily on the provision of functionality. That is, there are few overarching roadmaps for development and issues such as security and interoperability are of less concern for many of the new standards developers. In addition, new oversight structures have emerged that appear to be more responsive to the particular needs of developers in the ICT arena. It may be important for nation states to consider assisting in roadmap development in the ICT arena to insure security and privacy issues are addressed such that these increasingly essential systems are less vulnerable.