While the phone, fax, and direct computer connection have enabled information exchange in the past, EDI and the internet are quickly becoming the standards for effective, accurate, and low-cost information exchange. EDI is defined as direct computer-to-computer exchange of business document in standard formats to facilitate high-volume transaction. It involves both the capability and practice of communicating information between two organizations electronically instead of via the traditional forms of mail, courier, or even fax.
Communication and information standards are essential for EDI. Communication standards specify technical characteristics necessary for the computer hardware to correctly accomplish the interchange. Communication standards deal with character sets, transmission priority, and speed. Information standards dictate the structure and content of the message. standards organizations have developed and refined two general standards as well as numerous industry-specific standards in as effort to standardize both communication and information interchange.