Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 19, 2026

Windows Open Services Architecture

Windows Open Services Architecture (WOSA) is a set of proprietary Microsoft technologies intended to "...provide a single, open-ended interface to enterprise computing environments.". WOSA was announced by Microsoft in 1992. WOSA was pitched as a set of programming interfaces designed to provide application interoperability across the Windows environment.

Last revised
Jun 19, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
141 w
Citations
4
Source
Wikipedia ↗

Windows Open Services Architecture (WOSA) is a set of proprietary Microsoft technologies intended to "...provide a single, open-ended interface to enterprise computing environments.".1 WOSA was announced by Microsoft in 1992.2 WOSA was pitched as a set of programming interfaces designed to provide application interoperability across the Windows environment.

The set of technologies that were part of the WOSA initiative include:3

  • LSAPI (Software Licensing API)
  • MAPI (Mail Application Programming Interface)
  • ODBC4 (Open Database Connectivity)
  • OLE for Process Control
  • SAPI (Speech Application Programming Interface)
  • TAPI (Telephony Application Programming Interface)
  • Windows SNA (IBM SNA Networks)
  • WOSA/XFS (WOSA for Financial Services)
  • WOSA/XRT (WOSA for Real-time Market Data)
See also

See also

References

References

  1. overview PDF
  2. "Infoworld March 9, 1992". Computer Business Review. 1992-02-26. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  3. "Definition of WOSA". PCMAG. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  4. corob-msft. "ODBC Basics". docs.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
External links