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XML News

This XML Industry News section consists mainly of links to company press releases announcing support for XML/XSL/XLink, October - December 2001. An effort has been made to include representative items, but the collection is not exhaustive. Other documents with reference collections:

Major articles on XML in the trade magazines, as well as the more substantive refereed articles on XML in technical publications, are listed in the dedicated database sections: Current XML Surveys and Overview Articles

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• [December 21, 2001] "HP, IBM and SAP Ease Web Services Publication with UDDI and Java. Industry Leaders Promote Web Services Adoption with UDDI Technology Upgrade for Java Developers." - "Hewlett-Packard Company, IBM, and SAP AG today announced that they have committed to support UDDI4J, an open-source Java class library that supplies an application-programming interface (API) for interacting with Universal Description Discovery and Integration (UDDI) registries. UDDI4J benefits Java developers by providing them a common API for programmatically registering services as well as for querying and accessing information in UDDI-based registries. Agreement on UDDI4J also benefits the Web services industry as a whole by reducing hurdles associated with creating Web services tools. IBM originally made UDDI4J available as open source in January 2001. HP played an active role with IBM in UDDI4J by enhancing the original UDDI4J API to meet the new UDDI V2 specifications. SAP has contributed its experience and resources in deploying business-driven APIs to ensure rapid adoption of UDDI4J in the business community. [1] 'As an advocate of both the UDDI and the open source movement, supporting UDDI4J makes sense for HP,' said Jack Walicki, chief technology officer, HP Middleware Division. [2] 'UDDI4J is an excellent example of how the open source process can be used to create high-quality Java libraries to simplify application development around industry standards,' said Bob Sutor, director of e-business standards strategy, IBM. [3] 'Web services and UDDI provide essential building blocks to facilitate business on a global level through the Web. Easy development, publication and deployment driven out of heterogeneous environments are crucial for the success of Web services,' said Willi Therre, senior vice president application integration, SAP AG. This announcement follows UDDI.org's Nov. 19 announcement that HP, IBM, Microsoft and SAP launched beta versions of public UDDI Business Registries that allow businesses to easily search, discover, and integrate Web services. The UDDI Business Registry provides a standards-based protocol for cataloging services at design time and for discovering services at run time. Additional information regarding UDDI4J can be found at the UDDI4J Web site, http://www.uddi4j.org..." See: "Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI)."

• [December 21, 2001] "Announcing JAXR RI 1.0 EA." - Farrukh Najmi (Sun Microsystems) announced on 2001-12-21 that the JAXR RI 1.0 EA is immediately downloadable as part of the Java XML Pack Winter 01, including tutorial and examples. This version of the JAXR RI provides access to UDDI V1.0 registries. OASIS ebXML V2 Registry support is being added to JAXR RI in a future release. That work is dependent upon there being a specification compliant OASIS ebXML V2.0 registry, as being developed at the open source project at http://sourceforge.net/projects/ebxmlrr. Despite the temporary lack of ebXML Registry support, you will find the JAXR RI interesting because the JAXR API uses an information model that is very similar to ebRIM V2.0. Detailed informal discussions on JAXR API or JAXR RI may be conducted at the Yahoo eGroup." See: "Sun Microsystems Releases Java XML Pack."

• [December 19, 2001] "XML Standards Converge at OASIS. Industry Groups Migrate XML Specification Development to Interoperability Consortium." - "The trend to consolidate XML standards development strengthened in 2001 as independent industry groups and vendors alike chose to migrate their work to OASIS, the XML interoperability consortium. Citing the need for wider adoption and international participation, the groups and companies expressed confidence that the open OASIS technical process offered the strongest potential for advancing their specifications. In Web services, independent efforts from WSUI.Org and WSXL from IBM joined to advance the OASIS Web Services Component Model (WSCM) specification. In the security space, AuthXML and S2ML combined their efforts to produce one universally accepted OASIS standard, SAML. BEA Systems chose to submit their XOCP specification to the consortium and help start the OASIS Business Transaction Protocol (BTP) Technical Committee. XML schema languages, TREX and RELAX, combined their work into RELAX NG at OASIS. Commerce One submitted its xCBL XML business document library to OASIS as a starting point for work on the Universal Business Language. MSI Solutions contributed their CRML customer relationship specification to the OASIS Customer Information Quality Technical Committee. TopicMaps.Org moved development of its ISO standard for navigating information to OASIS. The new OASIS Provisioning Services Technical Committee is evaluating contributions from the XRPM Working Group, the ADpr Initiative and developers of ITML..." See the list of OASIS TCs and the TC Guidelines.

• [December 13, 2001] "XyEnterprise Records Impressive New Sales and Upgrades of XML Professional Publisher 7.0. New Features and Powerful XML Capabilities Compel New Customers and Installed Base to Deploy XPP 7 for Automated Publishing Solutions." - "XyEnterprise, a leading developer of enterprise publishing software, announced that it has noted substantial new sales and upgrades of its 7.0 version of XML Professional Publisher software. Version 7.0 builds on the framework of the highly successful XPP software that has powered some of the world's most significant publishing operations for nearly two decades. The 7.0 version of XPP achieved an unprecedented adoption rate with a high percentage of the installed base purchasing the new version of the software in just 10 months, as well as major new deployments in the XML publishing market. Among the first adopters of the XPP 7 software are industry leaders such as the American Automobile Association (AAA), AXA Financial, Boeing Corporation, Cadmus Communications, IBM, NFPA, Sun Microsystems, Thomson & Thomson, and the US Navy. XML Professional Publisher is a high performance XML publishing application that processes pages from XML and other source data to create high quality output in PDF and PostScript format. XPP software is deployed in a diverse set of markets including high technology product documentation, eLearning custom courseware, catalog publishing, and wide varieties of legal, financial, and scientific publishing applications. XPP provides superior XML and typographic support combined with levels of speed, automation and throughput unattainable by other systems. The XPP system is ideally suited for high volume background processing as well as dynamic print-on-demand applications... XyEnterprise is scheduled to release the next version of XPP in January 2002. This new version, XPP 7.1, includes even greater XML support and features other important enhancements including: (1) Support for XSLT (Extensible Style Language Translation) including the ability to transform data using standard W3C standard XSL style sheets on import or export from XPP (2) An improved and friendlier graphical user interface (3) Extended capabilities for PDF generation..."

• [December 13, 2001] "ECMA Standardizes Key .NET Technologies. Final Step in Standards Process Makes C# and Core of .NET Programming Model Open Standards for XML Web Services." - On December 13, 2001 "Microsoft Corp. announced that ECMA, an international standards body, has ratified specifications for C# (pronounced C-sharp) and the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI). The ratification marks a milestone in the industry's standardization efforts around XML Web services as well as programming language innovation. C# and CLI standards are key parts of the standards-based, multilanguage Microsoft .NET Platform, created by Microsoft to enable software developers to quickly build and deploy powerful, interoperable XML Web services. C#, which is derived from C and C++, provides the world's first component-oriented language for C and C++ developers. The CLI, a subset of the Microsoft .NET Framework, includes base-class libraries and components needed to enable other software vendors to build, deploy and run XML Web services. Microsoft submitted the specifications for C# and CLI to ECMA in October 2000, and has collaborated with a dozen industry leaders, including Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM Corp., Intel Corp. and Netscape Communications Corp., in C# and CLI technical working groups to complete final specifications. The specifications are available on ECMA's Web site at http://www.ecma.ch/, as well as on the MSDN Web site at http://msdn.microsoft.com/net/. The Microsoft .NET Framework is a platform for building, deploying and running XML Web services and applications. It provides a highly productive, standards-based, multilanguage environment for integrating existing investments with next-generation applications and services as well as the agility to solve the challenges of deployment and operation of Internet-scale applications."

• [December 11, 2001] "Tibco Software Makes Business Integration More Widely Accessible. TIBCO BusinessWorks Is First Comprehensive, Packaged Integration Solution Supporting Web Services." - "TIBCO Software Inc. has announced its strategy to make integration technology more widely accessible with TIBCO BusinessWorks, a packaged approach to implementing a business integration framework. The newest member of the TIBCO ActiveEnterprise product family, TIBCO BusinessWorks is a comprehensive, easy-to-use platform that gives companies the ability to rapidly solve integration challenges in 'bite-size chunks'. TIBCO BusinessWorks is also the first solution to enable comprehensive, cross-platform Web Services for new and legacy systems, including internal application and business process integration, as well as real-time monitoring and management... TIBCO BusinessWorks is an easy-to-use integration solution that leverages TIBCO's proven technology and industry leadership to extend total business integration to a broader market. "

• [December 11, 2001] "Clarke American First in Industry to Implement IFX XML Standard." - "Clarke American, the fastest growing provider of checks and related products and services, deployed its first XML interface partner, WESCOM Credit Union, using the Interactive Financial Exchange (IFX) Forum's extensible mark-up language (XML) standard. This solution, using the IFX XML standard, allows the institution to datastream directly to Clarke American's enterprise system via the Internet. The IFX Forum, which administers the XML standard, is a non-profit organization charged with developing an open and interoperable specification on a robust XML framework for electronic business-to-business financial data exchange. Clarke American, who is a member of the IFX Forum and active in a special sub-committee, assisted in developing the most recent XML standard. In December of 2000, Clarke American wrote an initial tag to allow the transfer of data to add check order records. Since that time they have worked with IFX to develop 15 additional tags which will make the check ordering capability completely IFX compliant... Use of XML also reduces the cost of duplication, both from a data entry and customer service standpoint, by allowing active updates from both the institution and Clarke American. If Clarke American receives a change of address request, that information can be confirmed and updated into both Clarke American's system and the institution's system simultaneously..." [Note: "The IFX Specification is a publicly available, complete XML financial messaging protocol made up of a powerful framework and interactive set of messages that support multiple types of financial services. IFX 1.2 enables the next generation of financial applications, most notably in the emerging areas of business-to-business banking and payments and intelligent ATM networks... IFX 1.2, the latest version released in fall 2001, features a wide range of functions that allow financial institutions and associated service providers to access account information, download credit card statements, transfer funds, process consumer and business payments, enable bill presentment, and improve customer service. The specification supports a broad range of client devices, such as any standard Web browser software, personal computers with personal financial manager (PFM) software, voice response units (VRUs) that provide bank by phone services, automated teller machines (ATMs), consumer handheld devices, or mobile telephones with data capabilities..." See: (1) the IFX Forum Web Site; and (2) references in "Interactive Financial eXchange (IFX)."

• [December 11, 2001] "SilverStream Software Releases the SilverStream eXtend JEDDI Registry as a Resource for Developers. Available for Free Download to Foster the Adoption of UDDI Registries to Publish, Discover and Manage Web Services." - "SilverStream Software, Inc. today announced that SilverStream eXtend JEDDI, a comprehensive UDDI (Universal Discovery, Description and Integration) implementation, is available for free download at http://software.silverstream.com. SilverStream has released a free developer edition of SilverStream eXtend JEDDI (Java Enterprise Discovery, Description and Integration) to encourage developers to discover the benefits of UDDI for publishing, managing and sharing Web Services internally across development projects. SilverStream Software is a member of the UDDI community and supports the continued development of the UDDI standard... SilverStream eXtend JEDDI, currently available in beta, is an open implementation of the UDDI v1.0 specification and can be used for public Web Services development and testing as well as private UDDI deployments. It includes administration tools, core data, and optional test data to help developers get started quickly with UDDI. SilverStream eXtend JEDDI comes with sample business data for testing (UDDI clients), and features a Web-based administration tool that offers: (1) User group administration to determine limits for how many businesses, services, bindings and tModels (service type definition) can be published per user; (2) The ability to trace incoming and outgoing messages; (3) An error log and the ability to track performance. Like all of SilverStream's products, SilverStream eXtend JEDDI is fully standards-based so that it can be flexibly leveraged on a variety of platforms. Its server agent executes in J2EE application servers including the SilverStream eXtend Application Server (3.7.4 and higher) and Apache Tomcat (3.7 and 4.0), and can be precompiled and repackaged using the SilverStream eXtend Workbench to support BEA WebLogic, IBM WebShpere, Oracle 9iAS and others. In addition, SilverStream eXtend JEDDI supports a variety of databases including Oracle 8i, IBM DB2 v.7, Microsoft SQL Server 2000, Informix Cloudscape 3.6 and Sybase Adaptive Server v.6. SilverStream eXtend JEDDI is a core component of the SilverStream eXtend integrated services environment, the first comprehensive, J2EE-compatible product suite to simplify and accelerate the development and deployment of services-oriented applications on market-leading J2EE application servers. In addition to a UDDI v1.0 implementation, SilverStream eXtend features comprehensive support for all other Web Services standards including a SOAP v1.1 implementation provided by SilverStream's jBroker. Web, a WSDL Editor that simplifies the creation of Web Service descriptions from scratch as part of the SilverStream eXtend Workbench, and the ability to create XML Web Services from any enterprise system using SilverStream eXtend Composer..." See: "Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI)."

• [December 03, 2001] "OASIS RELAX NG Technical Committee Completes Lightweight XML Language Validation Specification." - "OASIS, the XML interoperability consortium, released RELAX NG 1.0 as a Committee Specification for validating XML-based languages. RELAX NG offers a complimentary alternative to the W3C XML Schema Recommendation, providing an option for developers who value ease-of-use and a middle ground for those adopting multiple schema languages. In support of the new specification, the OASIS technical committee also released the RELAX NG tutorial and RELAX NG DTD compatibility. 'The key to RELAX NG's simplicity lies in the fact that it does not have any mechanisms specific to particular XML applications. Instead, RELAX NG concentrates on the syntax of XML documents. This opens RELAX NG to as wide a variety of applications as XML itself,' explained James Clark, chair of the OASIS RELAX NG Technical Committee. Clark, who has contributed to a wide body of open source software including Linux and XML, is regarded as one of the most prolific developers in the field of structured information standards..." See the news item and "RELAX NG."

• [November 30, 2001] "Microsoft to Showcase .NET at Western Show 2001. Motorola to Launch Windows CE .NET-Based EVr-8401 Enhanced TV Viewer at Show. .NET Lounge Will Show How Microsoft Helps Cable Operators Extend Services Beyond the Television." - "Microsoft Corp. will demonstrate the role of Microsoft .NET in the future of interactive television services at the Western Show 2001 in Anaheim, Calif., Nov. 27-30... Microsoft will highlight how cable operators can use XML-based Web services to provide an enhanced user experience to increase subscriber loyalty, create a deeper customer relationship and enable additional revenue opportunities. The demonstrations will show how cable operators and iTV developers can use XML-based Web services to offer a range of personalized, integrated services to their subscribers including Short Message Service (SMS) text messaging from the television to mobile phone; instant messaging between the television and the PC; remote programming of personal video recording (PVR) devices; and media management for photos, music and videos... Microsoft .NET provides a next-generation software foundation to connect the world of information, devices and people in a more unified and personalized way. The .NET Platform allows developers to create and deliver applications and services to enable information to be easily accessed by different devices, including a Microsoft TV-powered set-top box. .NET applications and services are based on well-known industry standards -- such as XML, Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) and Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI) -- enabling any client or server that implements these standards to participate, whether or not they are running Microsoft software. Cable companies deploying .NET as part of their interactive TV offering can easily integrate XML services developed in-house or take advantage of those offered by Microsoft and/or third-party companies. Using .NET, any cable operator and iTV company can easily create and integrate a variety of services in a secure environment that ensures the customers' privacy and security while maintaining the level of control by cable operators. Cable operators can maximize revenue opportunities when deploying XML Web services over a broadband connection. XML Web services created using the .NET Platform are based on established industry standards for easy development, integration and delivery of services between applications and devices. XML, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standard for formatting data on the Web, is at the core of .NET. SOAP, also maintained at the W3C, is the standard protocol for exchanging information between applications on the Web and is one of the key enabling technologies for the XML Web services model and .NET. Other components of .NET, including Web Services Description Language (WSDL) and UDDI, are also being standardized..."

• [November 28, 2001] "ebXML Messaging Interoperability Pilot Garners Cross Industry Support. Initiative draws support from Global Retail and Automotive Industries." - "Drummond Group Inc. (DGI), a leading interoperability conformance consultancy, officially announced the launch of the ebXML Messaging Interoperability pilot. The goal of the pilot, slated to run from October 2001 through February 2002, is to demonstrate the exchange of ebXML Messaging and to produce the first group of interoperable off-the-shelf products for these supporting industry groups Global Commerce Initiative and the Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail... Rik Drummond, Drummond Group Inc. CEO, says, 'Interoperability in this messaging layer is critical to ensure that all other ebXML components and other industry standards that have endorsed ebXML Messaging, such the Open Applications Group, can also be successful. It is vital that these efforts span cross industries for broader adoption of the specification. Our experience in EDI over the Internet messaging has shown that user driven interoperability testing is critical to adoption of the standard. DGI is excited to set this in motion for ebXML.' ebXML Messaging specifically focuses on the means to transmit a document (payload) from one party to another, possibly via intermediaries. This protocol standardizes the way B2B transactions are transmitted among all sizes of companies from the Large Enterprise (LE) to the Small & Medium Enterprise (SME). ebXML Messaging does not define the business processes or the content of the messages being sent. ebXML Messaging only concerns itself with the secure and reliable transmission of the payload... The current pilot (Phase One) will test the messaging and security issues of ebXML. Use cases from Global Retail and Automotive Retail industries have been used to build the test plans to ensure the developing products are in line with industry needs. All lessons learned are being fed back into the OASIS ebXML Messaging Workgroup and the OASIS Interoperability and Conformance Workgroup to incorporate in future versions of the specification. Subsequent pilots, in 2002 (Phase Two) and 2003 (Phase Three) are planned which will test additional layers of the ebXML specification along with the ebXML messaging layer." See also from July 23, 2001: "Global Commerce Initiative Launches ebXML Messaging Interoperability Conformance Pilot." Other references: "Electronic Business XML Initiative (ebXML)."

• [November 26, 2001] "Fujitsu Endorses the BSML Standard for Biological Information. Fujitsu Will Use BSML as the XML-based Specification for Bioinformatic Data Integration." - "Fujitsu and LabBook, Inc., today announced that Fujitsu has endorsed the BSML standard for communicating genomic information. Fujitsu joins a rapidly growing list of organizations supporting the open BSML standard for genome research. Among the others are the EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI), IBM, Bristol-Myers Squibb, John Wiley & Sons, Ohio Supercomputer Center, NetGenics, Celestar Lexico-Sciences, ApoCom Genomics, National Foundation for Cancer Research, and other BIO member companies. BSML (Bioinformatic Sequence Markup Language) is an open and freely available Extensible Markup Language (XML) format that allows life science researchers to integrate, annotate, and visualize complex genetic sequences and rich bioinformatics content. BSML documents are composed of two independent sections, one encoding the biological content and the other encoding visualization information for effective communication of the content... BSML is a standard XML data format that captures the richness of genome research data in documents that retain the biological meanings and relationships of the content. BSML was created as an evolving open public domain standard for the bioinformatics community. LabBook provides BSML for effective management, communication, and interoperability of bioinformatic data, enabling lightweight integration of information from public databases, internal sources, and researchers' annotations. LabBook has created BSML converters for many data sources, including GenBank, EMBL, Ensembl, OHGD, Swiss-Prot, and internal databases, with converters for AGAVE in progress. BSML provides a robust mechanism to exchange data more efficiently across bioinformatics systems. The BSML standard is freely available from www.BSML.org. LabBook, Inc. is an XML-powered life science informatics software and information provider for biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and academic researchers. LabBook's enabling software, including the Genomic XML Browser and XML converters, maximizes the value of bioinformatic data by delivering information as 'live' reusable documents in a highly visual and interactive discovery environment. The combination of the BSML standard for bioinformatics with a biology-smart browser creates the ideal front-end for life science informatics that enables dynamic integration and annotation of diverse databases." See: "Bioinformatic Sequence Markup Language (BSML)."

• [November 26, 2001] "CNet Launches NewsToBuy, First Application Service to Offer XML Content Publishing and Syndication for Rent." - "CNet Sweden, a developer of best-of-breed software for content publishers, today launched NewsToBuy, an easy-to-use ASP service offering small and medium sized publishers all editorial tools and cross media publishing functions needed to run a professional publishing business. Designed entirely around XML technology, NewsToBuy provides a cost effective solution for small publishers such as local newspapers, trade magazines and trade portals to run their web publishing business. The NewsToBuy application service offers a complete editorial system, news archive, newsletter distribution, cross media publishing to different formats and channels, integration of external news feeds as well as export of news feeds. Publishers can easily manage their own web portals and digital newspapers without having to install any hardware, database or content management system. Editing, categorization and prioritizing of news articles is done through an Internet browser and the publisher can chose any layout they want. Besides publishing to web portals it is also possible to export content for paper publishing and for news syndication using XML formats such as NewsML and RSS..."

• [November 20, 2001] "BIC Drives B2B Automation With Agreement on XML Conceptual Model. Ford Motor Company, Intel, RosettaNet and Other e-Business Leaders Publish a Common Framework and Case Studies." - "The Business Internet Consortium, an open-industry group formed to accelerate the move to e-Business through industry collaboration, today announced the publication of the Extensible Markup Language (XML)-based e-Business conceptual model developed by the consortium's XML e-Business Standards Convergence Workgroup. The conceptual model calls out the recommended protocols, standards and implementations for e-Business. Ford Motor Company, Intel Corporation and RosettaNet provided case studies of their specific e-Business implementations, backing up the guidelines published by the Business Internet Consortium. RosettaNet is a leading XML standards body, with more than 400 member companies. Intel Corporation is a leading user of e-Business processes, conducting nearly $24 billion in online transactions in 2000. Ford Motor Company is a leading proponent of e-Business processes among automobile manufacturers and vendors. The case studies give e-Business managers and developers a quick way to survey the common implementations among existing e-Business leaders. The Ford Motor Company case study details how the company collaborates with hundreds of suppliers using XML-based technologies. The Intel case study describes the company's implementation of RosettaNet technologies for managing relationships with hundreds of trading partners. The RosettaNet case study summarizes the RosettaNet Implementation Framework and Partner Interface Processes and their relationship with the Business Internet Consortium conceptual model. 'There are more than 250 iterations of XML for various industries and applications,' said Terry Spires, Intel marketing manager and Business Internet Consortium Chairman. 'So many standards have been proposed that it's difficult for managers to pick the winners. The Business Internet Consortium worked with industry leading companies and standards bodies to develop these recommendations. And, with the support of the case studies, the conceptual model is not just a collection of colorful 3D boxes stacked together with creative names. They actually relate to real systems in production.' Going forward, the XML e-Business Standards Convergence Workgroup will share requirements and identify architectural gaps with standards bodies including OAGI, RosettaNet, OASIS, W3C and UN/CEFACT. Additionally, the group is considering studying how Web Services technology could be more effectively used in B2B automation..." See: (1) "Business Internet Consortium's XML Convergence Workgroup Publishes Phase One Documents"; (2) BIC Workgroup for XML-based eBusiness Standard Convergence."

• [November 14, 2001] "FpML Joins Forces with ISDA. Combined Focus Strengthens Technology Supporting Electronic Trading of Financial Derivatives." - "FpML.org (FpML) has announced that FpML and The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) have agreed to integrate the FpML standards development process into ISDA... The FpML initiative will function as an ISDA committee and related working groups and will continue to communicate via the www.fpml.org website. Brian Lynn, co-chair of the FpML.org Standards Committee, said that the Committee retains responsibility for approving new versions of the standard. 'Strong input from vendors is a key success factor for the development and adoption of the standard,' Mr. Lynn said. 'Vendors will continue to be represented on the Standards Committee and on Working Groups.' ISDA is the global trade association representing leading participants in the privately negotiated derivatives industry. ISDA was chartered in 1985, and today has more than 540 member institutions from 41 countries on six continents. These members include most of the world's major institutions that deal in privately negotiated derivatives, as well as many of the businesses, governmental entities and other end users that rely on over-the-counter derivatives to manage efficiently the financial market risks inherent in their core economic activities... FpML.org is comprised of volunteers from some 30 companies who participate on the Board of Directors, the Standards Committee or as members of Working Groups. Volunteers are employees at leading banks, information and software vendors, and systems integrators. FpML is a freely licensed standard designed to support the electronic dealing and processing of financial derivatives between trading partners, including financial institutions and their client network." See also the "Talking Points for the FpML/ISDA Integration." References: "Financial Products Markup Language (FpML)."

• [November 12, 2001] "OASIS UBL TC Forms Subcommittees." - " At the first meeting of the OASIS Universal Business Language Technical Committee, hosted the week of 29 October 2001 by Sun Microsystems, TC members formed several subcommittees (SCs) to accomplish their goal of defining a common XML business document library. In keeping with the completely open nature of the OASIS TC process, the work of each subcommittee can be monitored through its public mail list archive... Minutes of the first OASIS UBL TC meeting can be found online. OASIS hosts an open mail list, ubl-comment, for public comment on UBL. Subscription to the ubl-comment list is available to the public through the OASIS mail list manager. UBL (Universal Business Language) is an open initiative to define a common XML library for business documents like purchase orders and invoices. UBL will provide a set of XML building blocks and a framework that will enable trading partners to unambiguously identify and exchange business documents in specific contexts. UBL will unite and harmonize a number of currently existing XML and EDI business libraries. The arrival of a standard set of XML business schemas will solve major interoperability problems for both vendors and users. UBL is intended to complement the work of the UN/OASIS ebXML initiative and to jump-start the entry of small and medium-size businesses into the electronic marketplace." See: "Universal Business Language (UBL)."

• [November 12, 2001] "MERit Credit Engine Adds Merged XML Credit Reports." - "The MERit Credit Engine, MCE, has added capabilities to provide Merged XML Formatted Credit Report data using The Mortgage Banker's Association of America's MISMO standard. The MERit Credit Engine shortens development time and satisfies a mission-critical need for companies developing systems that require credit report data directly from Experian, Equifax, and/or Trans Union. It operates using a SQL Server database, and allows implementers to retain control of their entire system, without added per-transaction costs. The MCE, requests raw data from credit reporting agencies, converts it to a standard format, and inserts the subject's file into the local SQL database to simplify analysis and integration. The XML capabilities take the standardization to another level, allow the data to be shared by participants in a loan transaction, within a network or across the Web... The MERit Credit Engine's XML option is able to provide data in the correct format for those parts of the standard related to credit reports: double or tri-merged (using the MCE merge option) as well as single-bureau. The XML credit report standards now make it possible, in the home lending field, for identical data files to to be submitted to Fannie Mae as well as Freddie Mac for an underwriting decision." See "Mortgage Bankers Association of America MISMO Standard." [source]

• [November 12, 2001] "Windows .NET Server Beta 3 Provides Foundation for Web Services. Revolutionary Application Services Take Center Stage." - "Microsoft Corp. Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates announced in his keynote speech at COMDEX Fall 2001 that Microsoft Corp.'s beta 3 of its next-generation Windows server family would be made available to beta testers later this month. The company will be releasing four new servers, including a single-purpose Web server intended to vastly simplify and speed up the processes of configuring and deploying Web sites and front-end Web applications. The lineup is the next step in the evolution of the Microsoft family of powerful server solutions, and is the first to integrate native support for XML Web services and the Microsoft .NET Framework, enabling businesses to efficiently develop powerful Web service applications. The new generation of Windows servers provides the foundation for Microsoft's platform for Web services based on XML, allowing applications to communicate and share data over the Internet while integrating with a variety of operating systems or programming languages. In beta 3, beta testers will see a powerful application development environment. Microsoft is advancing its integrated development platform by adding native support for industry-standard protocols such as XML, SOAP, WSDL and UDDI. Combined with the integrated Microsoft .NET Framework and other application services, the new Windows servers will enable developers to create powerful Web sites, services and applications with fast time to market..."

• [November 12, 2001] Microsoft Announces More Than 140 Adapters for BizTalk Server 2000. Leading Adapter Vendors Work With Microsoft to Create Adapters Enabling Seamless Connectivity From BizTalk Server to Multiple Applications and Technologies." - "Microsoft Corp. has announced that there are more than 140 adapters available for Microsoft BizTalk Server 2000 that connect to more than 70 applications and technologies. By January the number of adapters will reach at least 160, the company said. Leading adapter vendors Actional Corp., iWay Software, Pixel USA Inc., RioLabs Inc., and Taviz Technology Inc. created these adapters for BizTalk Server 2000, allowing customers to more easily connect to disparate technologies and applications from companies such as Oracle Corp., PeopleSoft Inc., SAP AG and Siebel Systems Inc. Microsoft also is developing its own adapters for SAP and IBM MQSeries that will be available by the end of the year. These adapter solutions offer out-of-the-box connectivity from BizTalk Server to the most commonly used technologies and applications, allowing customers to more quickly build adapters and therefore speed up the implementation of their integration solution. Based on XML and SOAP, BizTalk Server 2000 unites enterprise application integration (EAI), business-to-business integration and business process automation technology to allow companies to easily orchestrate XML Web services and rapidly build dynamic business processes that span applications, platforms and businesses... Microsoft chose to work with multiple vendors on the development of BizTalk Server adapters in order to allow customers to choose from a number of adapters, ensuring they will find the right ones to meet their specific needs. All the adapter vendors have worked closely with Microsoft to ensure that the adapters seamlessly connect to BizTalk Server 2000. The result is one of the largest libraries of adapters in the industry and one whose growth parallels the rapid adoption of BizTalk Server 2000... A complete list of ready-made adapters can be found online... " See "BizTalk Framework."

• [November 09, 2001] "IPTC Issues NITF 3.0. Improves Metadata Capabilities of Leading XML Structure for News Articles." - "An updated version of the News Industry Text Format is now posted on the NITF website, at www.nitf.org. NITF is an XML-based vocabulary designed for the markup and delivery of news content in a variety of ways, including print, wireless devices and the Web. It was developed by the International Press Telecommunications Council, an international association of news providers. NITF 3.0 includes several improvements over NITF 2.5 (released September, 2000). Support for 'smarter tables' allows publishers of tabular data to tightly describe the values displayed in each column. Regularly-published tables can also be labelled by publishers so that the receivers of their news can improve how they process the data. The improved metadata support of NITF 3.0 also gives publishers more freedom in how they describe what an article covers. Codes applied to people, locations, events, and titles can be used to enhance the searchability and interlinking of published content... The IPTC is also the creator of the NewsML standard, a multimedia packaging format that allows publishers to dynamically express the relationships among components that make up a complex multimedia news package. NewsML 1.0 was ratified in October, 2000. This year the IPTC has begun an effort to recommend -- or create, if necessary -- XML content models for data of critical importance to the news industry. Analysis of work in the realms of weather, event listings, governmental, sports, and markets data have been undertaken. The first of these specialized models that the IPTC has chosen to develop itself has been Sports, and a preliminary 0.5 version of SportsML has been released for public comment." See "News Industry Text Format (NITF)." [source]

• [November 06, 2001] "OASIS Forms Provisioning Services Technical Committee to Standardize Automated Provisioning for Enterprise Resources. Access360, Business Layers, Jamcracker, Novell, Oblix, OpenNetwork Technologies, and Others Unite to Develop Provisioning Specification." - "OASIS, the XML interoperability consortium, announced that its members have formed the OASIS Provisioning Services Technical Committee to define an XML-based framework for exchanging user, resource, and service provisioning information. The new OASIS Technical Committee will collaborate to develop the Provisioning Services Markup Language (PSML), an end-to-end specification for the automation of user or system access and entitlement rights to electronic services. 'Provisioning is a key component of Web services,' noted Patrick Gannon, president and CEO of OASIS. 'Whether you're talking about provisioning accounts into a partners' extranet, an outsourced application, an Application Service Provider (ASP), or a trading exchange, ultimately all these areas are going to be offered as Web services. Without a standardized approach, provisioning will add a significant administrative burden to Web services. The OASIS Provisioning Services Technical Committee will provide a fundamental benefit to enable Web services as a practical business tool.' In keeping with the consortium's mission to promote convergence and unite disparate efforts, the OASIS Provisioning Services Technical Committee will consider contributions of related work from other groups and companies. The XRPM (eXtensible Resource Provisioning Management) Working Group, the Active Digital Profile (ADpr) Initiative and developers of the Information Technology Markup Language (ITML) all plan to submit specifications to the new OASIS technical committee." See: "OASIS Technical Committee Proposed for Provisioning Services (PSTC)" and "XML-Based Provisioning Services."

• [November 01, 2001] "HR-XML 'XML Timecard' Standard Approved by the HR-XML Consortium. New Schema to Enable Billing Functionality, Increase Mobility, and Flexibility." - "The HR-XML Consortium, a global independent organization dedicated to creating worldwide XML standards for the human resources industry, has approved an XML 'timecard' standard. The timecard standard promises to save money for companies while reducing frustration for HRIS and payroll system managers trying to integrate time and expense data across time and attendance, HRIS, payroll, and other disparate systems. 'Global standards for time capture are sorely needed,' said Gail Bubsey, business analyst with Kelly Services and co-chair of HR-XML's Time Expense Workgroup. 'Currently, there are a wide variety of applications all attempting to exchange time worked data with each other. Payroll and time reporting are two of the most complicated and crucial elements of HR, so there really is no room for error,' according to Bubsey. One of the significant accomplishments of this project, according to Bill Kerr, principal software engineer for Oracle Corporation and workgroup co-chair, was meeting the changing needs of HR management. According to Kerr, 'the modern workplace demands functionality wherever and whenever the user requires it, and that requires a new way of thinking about data exchange. Time reporting might begin with a time capture device like a timeclock, but it is increasingly likely to begin with a browser, mobile phone, or personal digital assistant (PDA). HR-XML's timecard spec provides the neutral message between such reporting devices and an HRIS, ERP, or a time and attendance system,' Kerr said. The timecard specification supports the transmission of 'raw' time-worked data as well as pre-processed data optimized for direct submission to a payroll or HRIS. 'Because the timecard spec is flexible enough to support both processed and unprocessed time data, it can be extremely valuable in situations involving an intervening process, such as a time and attendance system, that provides enriched, summary information for submission directly to a payroll or HRIS process,' Kerr noted... The next steps for the group will be to include extra interactions and data flows within the standard. Organizations and individuals interested in reviewing the HR-XML timecard standard can download the specification from the Consortium's website." See: "HR-XML Consortium."

• [November 01, 2001] "Open Standard for Benefits Enrollment Approved by HR-XML Consortium. Breakthrough for Employers, Insurance Carriers, and Plan Administrators." - "The HR-XML Consortium has approved a new XML-based standard for employee benefit plan enrollments. The enrollment specification offers employers, third-party administrators, insurers, and payers new opportunities for reducing the costs and delivery times associated with communicating benefit plan enrollment information. 'Today, insurance carriers and third-party benefits administrators use either their own specifications or EDI formats for accepting employee enrollment from external systems,' said Elizabeth O'Neal, Director of Integration Technologies and Services at Employease, Inc., and leader of the HR-XML Benefits Enrollment Group. 'The HR-XML Consortium's enrollment specification provides a robust but easy-to-implement means of connecting employers and third-party administrators with insurance carriers and other benefit plan providers,' according to O'Neal... Version 1.0 of the HR-XML benefits enrollment specification supports enrollment and maintenance of employees in 'tier coverages,' such as medical, dental and vision. Other types of coverage (FSA, Life, 401(k), etc) will be supported in future releases of the standard. The initial specification supports benefits enrollments only within the United States. Profiles to support enrollments in other countries are a topic for possible future work. The new standard was developed to provide a ready path to the EDI transaction sets mandated under the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The Consortium illustrated in a proof-of-concept demonstration how industry-standard XML can be leveraged to bring HRIS-sourced data in conformance with the HIPAA EDI transaction sets..." See: "HR-XML Consortium."

• [October 30, 2001] "OASIS Continues Strong Growth by Attracting Market Leaders Focused on XML Interoperability Altova, Epicentric, eXcelon, Fujitsu, NeoCore, Oracle, Republica, Sybase, Verticalnet and Vitria Join OASIS." - "OASIS, the XML interoperability consortium, added ten (10) new Sponsors to its membership of organizations and individuals dedicated to collaborating on new XML applications standards. Drawn by the opportunity to contribute to OASIS work such as ebXML and the SAML security specification, as well as the formation of new OASIS technical committees, these companies expressed their common commitment to interoperability. The roster of new sponsors brings international IT corporations, including Fujitsu and Oracle, together with new economy companies, including Altova, Epicentric, eXcelon, NeoCore, Republica, Sybase, Verticalnet and Vitria. In addition to these, 25 new Contributors and 51 new Individual members joined OASIS within the last three months. 'OASIS offers a neutral ground where organizations -- large and small -- can contribute to the convergence and adoption of open specifications for structured information exchange. The variety of new sponsors joining OASIS is a testament to our ability to bring industries together to advance consensus and unite disparate efforts,' stated Patrick Gannon, president and CEO of OASIS. 'The quality of our new sponsors, combined with the direction of our technical growth, is very exciting'..."

• [October 27, 2001] Currenex and Wall Street Systems Exhibit STP Interface at The Association For Financial Professionals Conference." - "Currenex, Inc. will exhibit straight-through processing using an interface developed jointly by Currenex and Wall Street Systems at the Association for Financial Professionals Conference (AFP). This interface will allow users of The Wall Street System electronic Treasury Information Exchange (eTIE) platform to automatically receive trade and settlement details from Currenex's FXtrades multi-bank currency exchange via the eTIE platform. The interface is based upon the TWIST standard, which both Wall Street Systems and Currenex have helped develop. Attendees at the conference will see straight-through processing between Currenex's online foreign exchange service, FXtrades, and The Wall Street System eTIE platform. FXtrades is a real-time foreign exchange platform that provides a total trading solution from initiation and execution to settlement and reporting. eTIE is a guaranteed-delivery, Internet-connectivity solution for connecting B2B exchanges with back office and risk systems used by the treasury departments of the world's major corporations. Once a user executes a deal on the Currenex service, the integrated solution will automatically update the user's trading position and handle all operational processes within The Wall Street System... TWIST, the Treasury Workstation Integration Standards Team, initiated by Royal Dutch/Shell Group's treasury operations department, is a group of fifteen global companies, including Currenex and Wall Street Systems that are working to facilitate an open dealing marketplace for foreign exchange (FX). Using the FpML language as a starting point, TWIST is setting standards for corporate treasury operations, treasury workstation vendors and online marketplaces..." See "Treasury Workstation Integration Standards Team (TWIST)."

• [October 23, 2001] "Microsoft Previews Global XML Web Services Architecture. Four New Specifications Lay Foundation for Advancing XML Web Services." - "Microsoft Corporation today presented an architecture for the next generation of XML Web services and published four specifications supporting that architecture. The Global XML Web Services Architecture provides a set of principles and guidelines for advancing the protocols and file formats of today's XML Web services to more complex and sophisticated tasks. The four specifications -- WS-Security, WS-License, WS-Routing and WS-Referral -- build on XML Web services technologies such as SOAP, extending them for global-class computing. As with previous XML Web services specifications, these four will be available for a review period and then submitted to appropriate standards bodies..." See the news item for details and references.

• [October 23, 2001] "Gates Rallies Developers For New Era of Computing. Microsoft Chief Software Architect Delivers Keynote at PDC 2001, Delivers Core .NET Technologies and Highlights Surging Support for .NET Platform and XML Web Services." - "At the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference (PDC) 2001, Bill Gates announced a slew of major deliverables for third-party software developers and highlighted surging developer and partner support for the .NET Platform, Microsoft's next-generation software foundation to connect the world of information, devices and people in a more unified and personalized way... Attendees received release candidate software for the Microsoft .NET Framework and Visual Studio .NET as well as technology previews for a wide range of forthcoming .NET technologies. Among the new software development kits delivered are the .NET My Services SDK and the .NET Compact Framework, which brings .NET to a variety of 'smart' devices. Gates called on developers to use these tools to create a new generation of distributed applications built on XML Web services... Gates heralded significant progress made toward delivering on Microsoft's comprehensive strategy for XML Web services with the .NET Platform. Specifically, he announced the delivery of key .NET technologies, including the following: [For example:] (1) Microsoft XML Core Services version 4.0. This offering provides developers with an updated suite of XML services that offer improved performance, standards conformance, interoperability and documentation over MSXML 3.0. MSXML 4.0 enables developers to easily add XML functionality to their applications using the same XML services that are used by the .NET Enterprise Servers. MSXML 4.0 features a new, faster XML parser, the fastest XSLT engine available, and superior standards support including extensive support for the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) XML Schema (XSD) Recommendation...; (2) Office XP Web Services Toolkit. Available later this year, the Office XP Web Services tool kit will enable developers to combine the power of Web services with the power of Office XP. Developers can discover Web services through the UDDI service and then integrate a Web service into Office XP solutions using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), giving developers access to a wide array of integrated Web services that meet today's business needs..." [source]

• [October 23, 2001] "Sun Extends SOAP Support Across Sun ONE Integrated Product Portfolio. Sun Software Incorporates Web Services and XML Standards." - "Sun Microsystems, Inc. today announced that the Sun ONE integrated product portfolio continues to support emerging web services and XML standards, including SOAP. As a result, Sun ONE customers can develop web services with XML support that is interoperable with other standards-based services, regardless of their underlying platform. The Java technology will provide Sun ONE with open, cross-platform support for SOAP and other key web services standards. SOAP is the simple object access protocol, an industry standard now being defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). It defines how applications communicate with one another on the network, a fundamental feature for networked services on demand. Sun ONE includes the vision, architecture, platform and expertise for developing and deploying services on demand today - from the Solaris Operating Environment and Forte tools to Java, as the applications and services development platform, to the entire stack of iPlanet products...Web services standards, such as SOAP, are still being defined, but developers can use a variety of interim implementations available from several sources, such as the Apache Project, Cape Clear or tools vendors. Vendors can also write native support into their products. The Sun ONE products and the Java platform currently utilize this model. Ultimately, the individual products that make up the Sun ONE family will utilize common implementations of XML and other web services standards as they are created by the Java Community Process (JCP), including support for SOAP and XML processing. The JCP program has completed and released the JAXP API specification to support XML processing and parsing. The Java API for XML Messaging (JAXM), which is nearing completion by the JCP, will provide SOAP support to the iPlanet Message Queue product, which in turn provides SOAP support to iPlanet Application and Integration Servers and other Sun ONE products that are implementations of Java technology. The iPlanet Integration Server today includes a native implementation of SOAP. iPlanet Message Queue is a high performance 100% Java Message Service (JMS) implementation message oriented middleware product..." See "Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)."

• [October 23, 2001] "World Wide Web Consortium Issues First Public Working Draft of VoiceXML 2.0. W3C and VoiceXML Forum Work Together to Produce Voice Markup for the Web." - "Leading the Web to its full potential, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) today released the first public Working Draft of VoiceXML 2.0, an XML-based language for voice dialogs. A first public Working Draft gives the Web community an invitation and opportunity to see the early work of a W3C Working Group, and to contribute through comments and implementations. VoiceXML 2.0 was published after W3C and the VoiceXML Forum announced plans for cooperation through a jointly signed Memorandum of Understanding... VoiceXML 2.0 is the voice dialog language under development at W3C. It is designed to creating audio dialogs that feature synthesized speech, digitized audio, recognition of spoken and DTMF (touch-tone) key input, recording of spoken input, telephony, and mixed-initiative conversations. Its major goal is to bring the advantages of Web-based development and content delivery to interactive voice response applications... Earlier work on VoiceXML was completed within the VoiceXML Forum. A desire to bring the work of both the VoiceXML Forum and the W3C Voice Browser Working Group together led both organizations to jointly produce and sign a Memorandum of Understanding. Both organizations have agreed that W3C is to serve as the organization for VoiceXML technical development, and that the VoiceXML Forum shall continue to serve as an advocate for the adoption of VoiceXML Technologies... Since March 1999, W3C's Voice Browser Working Group has been developing the W3C Speech Interface Framework, a system which includes languages and functionalities for speech synthesis, speech grammars, semantic interpretations of results, call controls, pronunciation lexicons, natural language representation, and a markup language for voice dialogs..." See references in the news entry.

• [October 22, 2001] "OASIS Members Form Technical Committee to Develop Web Services Component Model for Interactive Web Applications. Cyclone Commerce, DataChannel, Documentum, Epicentric, HP, IBM, Logistics Management Institute, Macromedia, Sterling Commerce, U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency, and Others Collaborate to Advance International Standard for Delivering Applications as Web Services." - "OASIS, the XML interoperability consortium, today announced its members have formed the OASIS Web Services Component Model (WSCM) Technical Committee to create a Web services standard for interactive application access. WSCM will provide a coordinated set of XML vocabularies and Web services interfaces that allow companies to deliver Web applications to end users through a variety of channels -- directly to a browser, indirectly through a portal or embedded into a third party Web application. 'Right now, there is no industry standard mechanism for packaging the display component of a Web service,' explained Charles Wiecha of IBM, chair of the new OASIS WSCM Technical Committee. 'WSCM will enable any Web application -- a package tracker, a calendar application, a stock quote, anything -- to be delivered and displayed to an end user as a Web service, regardless of the underlying Web platform, vendor-specific application format or display device.' With WSCM, companies will be free to syndicate their applications across different portals and Web site platforms without being limited by proprietary products. They will be able to dynamically share Web services without the time and labor of creating multiple vendor-specific connectors written to different Web languages such as Java, COM/.Net and Perl. Wiecha emphasized that WSCM will be developed in light of standards and specifications issued by OASIS, UN/CEFACT, ISO, W3C and other relevant standards bodies. 'We aren't trying to reinvent the Web presentation layer. Our goal is to harmonize WSCM as far as practical with existing Web application programming models (e.g., Portals), the work of the W3C (e.g., XForms, DOM, XML Events, XPath, XLink, XML Component API task force), emerging Web services standards (e.g., SOAP, WSDL, WSFL) and with the work of other appropriate business information bodies...'." See the news entry and the main entry for "Web Services Component Model (WSCM)."

• [October 21, 2001] "Microsoft Announces General Availability Of BizTalk Server Accelerator for RosettaNet. BizTalk Server Accelerator for RosettaNet and Intel-Based Servers Support XML Standards." - "Microsoft Corp., one of the founding members of the RosettaNet consortium, today announced the general availability of its BizTalk Server Accelerator for RosettaNet. In addition, Microsoft's accelerator was used by several companies to establish RosettaNet connections with their trading partners at Intel Corp.'s RosettaNet Interoperability Fest held last month in Taiwan. Built on top of Microsoft BizTalk Server 2000, the Accelerator for RosettaNet provides the software adapters and server platform needed to rapidly implement RosettaNet solutions that will integrate applications and supply-chain partners and enable the orchestration of complex, collaborative business processes... The BizTalk Server Accelerator for RosettaNet is a set of tools and technical resources that enhances the functionality of BizTalk Server 2000 to significantly reduce the amount of time and resources required to build, deploy and manage RosettaNet solutions. The BizTalk Server Accelerator for RosettaNet includes the following: (1) RosettaNet Implementation Framework (RNIF) 1.1 parser for BizTalk Server 2000. This allows BizTalk Server 2000 to 'speak' RosettaNet. (2) Prebuilt Partner Interface Processes (PIP). A collection of the most commonly used Partner Interface Processes prebuilt for BizTalk Server 2000 allows developers and IT professionals to quickly integrate their applications and trading partners into a RosettaNet solution. (3) PIP tools. A template-based resource for building any of the more than 80 PIPs allows developers and IT professionals to very easily build any of the PIPs they need for their RosettaNet solution. (4) PIP unit tester. This allows developers and IT professionals to easily test their RosettaNet implementations. (5) Comprehensive documentation and samples. These shorten the learning curve for developers and IT professionals building RosettaNet solutions... in Taipei, Taiwan, as part of the RosettaNet Partner Conference, Intel announced the results of its Interoperability Fest, a technology event in which 39 supply-chain trading partners and e-business solution providers successfully exchanged XML documents using RosettaNet standards. The event also demonstrated interoperability between third-party software solutions that connect businesses to their trading partners. Additional information about Intel and the Interoperability Fest is available [online]." References: see "RosettaNet."

• [October 21, 2001] "Intel Announces Results Of 'Interoperability Fest'." - "At last month's Intel RosettaNet Interoperability Fest (IOF), 26 supply chain trading partners and 13 e-Business solution providers successfully exchanged Extensible Markup Language (XML) documents using RosettaNet e-Business standards. RosettaNet is a non-profit group developing e-Business process standards for the electronics industry. The companies at the event established 37 server-to-server connections and exchanged XML documents using the purchase order request and advanced shipment notification RosettaNet Partner Interface Processes (PIPs). These specifications define steps in the purchase order process between trading partners. Additionally, companies demonstrated interoperability between third party software solutions that connect businesses to their trading partners... Intel will share the knowledge gained from the event with the RosettaNet consortium and continue to collaborate with the organization to help broaden the adoption of e-Business standards. Key learnings from the event include: (1) A need for additional software documentation to help companies establish RosettaNet connections with their trading partners. (2) A need to further educate trading partners on how to deploy RosettaNet standards and solutions. (3) Events like the IOF help accelerate RosettaNet deployments because participants focus on the common task of testing RosettaNet solutions. (4) By attending the event, software solution providers were able to resolve customer implementation issues quickly. The majority of participating companies tested connections on Intel Architecture. Intel-based servers provide the price/performance, scalability, availability and investment protection required to meet the demands of e-Business..." References: see "RosettaNet."

• [October 19, 2001] "Akamai and Interwoven Enhance Management and Distribution of Dynamic Web Content. Complementary Technologies Leverage Edge Side Includes (ESI) to Streamline the Creation, Testing and Delivery of Dynamic Content and Applications." - "Akamai Technologies, Inc. announced an expansion of its ongoing technology alliance with Interwoven Inc., the leading provider of Content Infrastructure, that will result in the industry's first integrated solution for managing and delivering ESI-based content and applications. Integrating complementary technologies, Akamai and Interwoven are now jointly leveraging the open specification Edge Side Includes (ESI), a simple mark-up language used to define Web page components for dynamic assembly and delivery from distributed servers at the Internet's edge. A customer using Interwoven TeamSite and the Akamai EdgeSuite offering will now be able to use TeamSite software to virtualize application fragments to be cached and delivered via Akamai's global network. As Interwoven's Content Infrastructure software and Akamai's content delivery services integrate with application server technologies from leaders such as BEA, IBM and Oracle, this becomes the first time that all of the elements that make up a Web infrastructure solution -- content infrastructure, application serving, and content delivery -- can communicate through a unified layer of technology... ESI technology enables Interwoven TeamSite customers to off-load the burden of assembling dynamic content to Akamai's network of over 13,000 servers. Interwoven TeamSite Templating software, an XML-based publishing solution that empowers all members of an organization to contribute content, will facilitate the inclusion of ESI tags and metadata thereby accelerating the creation of dynamic Web pages that can be delivered from the edge. Through the integrated solution, application fragments and ESI content managed within TeamSite can also be tested and previewed, behind the firewall, to improve efficiency and ensure quality prior to deployment for run-time delivery via Akamai's network." See: "Edge Side Includes (ESI)."

• [October 04, 2001] "SAP Fully Embraces UDDI. SAP Becomes UDDI Business Registry Operator." - "SAP AG, the world's leading provider of e-business software solutions, today announced it has become a global UDDI Operator and will build on UDDI for service integration and publish global services within the UDDI Business Registry. With this threefold strategy, SAP will fully leverage UDDI for e-business solutions -- from providing SAP functionality for Web services to using services published through UDDI. This strategy will provide SAP customers with an easy path to participate in and drive collaborative business. The Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI) Business Registry is a global, public, online directory that gives businesses a uniform way to describe their services, discover other companies' services, and understand the methods necessary to conduct e-business with a particular company. As a key element of the framework that makes Web services a reality, the UDDI Business Registry is an implementation based on the UDDI Specifications, which are available at http://www.uddi.org/... As part of becoming a UDDI Business Registry Operator, SAP will build, run and maintain a global UDDI node, enabling businesses to register and discover Web services via the Internet. SAP has been a driving member of the UDDI initiative, which enables businesses to quickly, easily and dynamically collaborate, since its inception... SAP will make it possible to provide the application functions of the mySAP.com e-business platform as a service, which makes it easy for customers to provide this information externally through UDDI. In addition, SAP customers can use UDDI to quickly and easily find and integrate complementary services regardless of their location. For example, a service such as "check product availability" can be performed without putting the integration challenge on the IT manager. Removing the technical implementation details of a service and allowing the customer to focus on the business meaning eases interoperability. SAP customers can register their business through the SAP Service Marketplace. At the customer's request, the stored business information can be published in the UDDI Business Registry, made available globally and enhanced by individual services. SAP has already registered itself and started to publish its global services offerings, such as the 'test drive' of the mySAP.com e-business platform, in UDDI..." See: "Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI)."

Other Sample Press Releases