MSAF is a forum which aims at providing high quality multimedia network services for business use. Establishment of MSAF was advocated by AT&T at Telecom in 1995 and MSAF was established in 1996. MSAF is composed of 36 companies that are service and technical providers all over the world. MSAF is discussing new technologies which aim at realizing highly reliable and easy-to-use multimedia service networks.

More and more companies are willing to join MSAF because the need for high quality multimedia services is increasing and more companies demand high quality multimedia services via networks in addition to exchanging data via networks.

MSAF members are classified into the following three types:

General Members:

Network service operators(e.g. AT&T and NTT)

Special Members:

Technical providers who provide technology adopted by MSAF services(e.g. Microsoft Corp., Lotus Development Corp, and Novell Corp.)

Associate Members:

Multi-national business users and technical providers other than special members

MSAF consists of a Board of Directors(BOD), Multimedia Services Committee(MSC), Service Interoperation Committees(SIC), and the Technical Assembly Council(TAC). Each group has different tasks:

BOD:

Manages MSAF and approves new SICs.

MSC:

Handles technical and operational problems for concrete services. SICs and other groups belong to MSC.

SIC:

Discusses concrete services. Currently, Lotus Development Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Novell are establishing SICs with carriers such as NTT and AT&T.

TAC:

Reviews technologies provided by technical providers and proposes new SICs to the MSC and the BOD.

In Japan, NTT will provide the NTT Network Connect Services(NNCS) and the NTT Network Application Services by Notes(NNAS), which are based on MSAF reference guides. The NNCS and NNAS reference guides are at the following home page:

http://www.nttpc.co.jp

Hitachi has been an MSAF associate member since the third annual conference held in Barcelona in Spain in 1996. Hitachi delivered a presentation on Groupmax in a Technical Advisory Council session. Hitachi also demonstrated a multimedia groupware service by linking the Internet, groupware and workflow software. This presentation aimed at appealing to the technical superiority of Groupmax and seemed to succeed. Participants asked questions about Groupmax performance and evaluation points.

Hitachi is willing to continue to participate in and contribute to MSAF. The MSAF home page is:

http://www.msaf.org