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AS2

AS2 (or Applicability Statement 2) rose in popularity drastically after the turn of the
millennium following the move by Walmart to require its suppliers to use the protocol.
Many other large retailers followed suit, meaning AS2 quickly became the most
popular EDI protocol across many industries for point-to-point connections.
Unlike many other protocols, AS2 was developed specifically for B2B document
exchange. As a result it offers several advantages over HTTP, including better security
and the ability for acknowledgements and transactions to happen in real time.
AS2 uses the HTTP(S) protocol to send EDI messages through an encrypted tunnel.
In a standard AS2 message files are transmitted as ‘attachments’. All file formats can
also be handled and messages can be signed to provide authentication if required. As
virtually no ERP system offers inbuilt AS2 capability, however, this must be integrated
separately. To do this requires detailed knowledge and can lead to long troubleshooting
if the administrator is not well versed with AS2 and its functionalities.
In order to improve traceability AS2 requires receipts, or Message Disposition
Notifications (MDNs) to confirm message delivery/receipt. In contrast to AS1 and
AS3 protocols, AS2 offers multiple MDN return options, including the ability to return
synchronous or asynchronous MDN..
Thanks to its compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
of 1996 (HIPAA), AS2 is particularly popular in the healthcare industry today.

Advantages of AS2
 No limit on the amount/size of data you can exchange
 As long as your organisation’s server is live, so is your AS2 connection
 Ability to exchange all file formats
 No yearly or transaction fees
 Possible via point-to-point or indirectly via a VAN
 Widespread adoption throughout EDI users

Disadvantages of AS2
 Requires integration of separate application
 Requires specific AS2 knowledge to setup, maintain and troubleshoot

OFTP2
Like AS2, OFTP, or ODETTE File Transfer Protocol, was specifically designed for
B2B document exchange by the Organisation for Data Exchange by Tele Transmission
in Europe (ODETTE) in the mid 1980s.