Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is a technology offering that doesn’t get discussed a lot but that has been around for thirty or so years. Electronic Data Interchange is a protocol that allows a sender and a receiver – often two different businesses – to exchange information in a standardized format. This applies to all businesses that choose to use EDI, regardless of country, industry, time zone, and currency. There are several standardized formats, including those that allow private information such that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act protects, along with others that just assure that information is understandable to all parties.
(A guide to EDI document standards can be found here.)
