Formal standards bodies are often associated with formal – and time consuming – processes. Industry consortia on the other hand are often regarded as providing quicker routes to standardization, and may not always be seen as an obvious choice when pursuing formal standards.
In this respect it should be taken into account that there is little difference between formal standards bodies and industry consortia as far as the timing and effort involved in the actual technical work is concerned. The approval process resulting in a specification becoming a formal standard however, can take a considerable period due to the legal and regulatory implications involved.
Formal standards bodies or industry consortia should however not be
automatically associated with formal or non-formal standardization processes.
Formal standards bodies often have short path
processes (e.g. Workshop
Agreements) in place, which lead to voluntary industry specifications.
Industry consortia often pass their specifications through formal standards
bodies, giving their output a more formal status as well.
Open Standards