News For August, 2000

Artesia Technologies, Inc., announced the release of its TEAMS 4.0 software solution. The latest version of Artesia's digital asset management solution features increased support for streaming media applications, improved metadata management capabilities, and inclusion of new web-accessible functionality. With the addition of these features to TEAMS' existing enterprise-class architecture and support for all types of rich media, TEAMS 4.0 provides a platform for the management and use of digital assets within the Global 2000, media, entertainment, publishing, and dot-com markets. Artesia Technologies' TEAMS 4.0 provides a media-independent framework for the ingestion, management and re-expression of all types of digital content, including text, images, graphics, audio, video, Quark and 3-D raster images. Early releases of TEAMS 4.0 have already been in use, with general availability slated for this October. One of the principal new features of TEAMS 4.0 is its increased optimization for the management and delivery of streaming media content. Seamless integration with Virage Video Logger enables TEAMS 4.0 to automatically capture thumbnail proxies and key frames on import from Real, QuickTime, and Microsoft digital formats and easily export to these formats as well. Users will also benefit from being able to utilize multiple resolutions of a video asset while continuing to track and manage them as a single asset. In addition, the new Clip Identifier (CI) lets the user select a segment from a video storyboard and express it as a new asset. The Clip-Time Adjuster (CTA) makes it possible to manipulate video in and out points on a frame-by-frame basis. Finally, the Play Decision List (PDL) will use the XML-based SMIL recommendation to allow for selection and synchronization of parts of videos from many different sources. TEAMS 4.0 will also offer several other key enhancements, including fortification of its Web client framework through the use of standards-based J2EE JSP technology. www.artesiatech.com

Microsoft Announces Next Version of Office & Ships Technical Beta
8/29/2000

Microsoft Corp. announced the next version of its Office suite and confirmed that the new product's first technical beta has been sent to a select group of customers. The next version of Microsoft Office will be a major product release and will be the first Office suite to begin delivering on the Office.NET vision by integrating Internet-based services, enabling users to be more productive using Office with the Web. New features include: Smart Tags that appear on the screen while individuals work, providing useful information for completing tasks or accessing data; New Task Panes offer views that expose a wide range of new and popular features; Speech recognition; Hotmail and MSN Instant Messenger integration; Word Count toolbar; Application and document recovery; Document routing for review; Team workspaces; Excel and Access now support XML as a native file format and can easily import and export XML data; Extensible Smart Tag architecture; New tools for workflow and collaboration ("Tahoe"); and improved Web Components that enable Excel users to easily publish interactive Web pages that have data contained in spreadsheets, pivot tables and pivot charts. www.microsoft.com

We're sure there are many new interesting features, but if the "native" XML support for Access and Excel is well done it would be a big step forward and a very useful tool for information integration. Of course it would be nice to see the same level of XML support in Word – not a trivial task, but they should be up to it.

Ikon & Intranet Solutions to Bring Content Management to Printing
8/29/2000

IKON Office Solutions announced that it has formed a strategic relationship with IntraNet Solutions, Inc. IntraNet Solutions agreed to license its Web-based content management products, including its Intra.doc! software products, to IKON as the core architecture for IKON's Digital Express 2000, a document repository system with hosted document and customized order management capabilities. Digital Express 2000 features print-on-demand and distributed printing options, allowing business users to send print jobs from their desktops via the Web for printing and distribution. In addition, IKON was awarded the exclusive right to sell IntraNet Solutions' Intra.doc! products to the graphic arts/commercial printing industry, as well as non-exclusive rights to market Xpedio, IntraNet Solutions' popular Web content management system designed for business-to- business customers, in the United States and Canada. Digital Express 2000 is scheduled for release in January 2001 as an ASP model for the graphic arts market. www.intranetsol.com, www.ikon.com

This could turn out to be quite a boost for Intranet Solutions.

Interwoven & Tibco Announce Alliance
8/29/2000

Interwoven, Inc. and TIBCO Software Inc. announced a strategic alliance to provide comprehensive solutions for business-to-business marketplaces and portals. The recently announced Interwoven Content Interchange Framework will include the TIBCO ActiveEnterprise e-business product suite as a key enterprise integration component, enabling Interwoven customers to manage content from their enterprise applications in real-time. The TIBCO ActiveEnterprise suite will enable joint customers to become real-time e-businesses by seamlessly integrating back-end systems such as ERP, product databases and customer databases, with their Web initiatives. Interwoven and TIBCO also announced that Interwoven's XML-based TeamSite Templating software will be integrated with the TIBCO ActivePortal product suite, delivering integrated content management and presentation for TIBCO's portal customers. TeamSite Templating allows easy content entry and tagging including tagging for use across multiple TIBCO ActivePortal-based sites. The TIBCO ActivePortal suite also works seamlessly with TIBCO ActiveEnterprise, enabling enterprises to leverage their integrated application network and B2B commerce infrastructure to provide an integrated, unique set of real-time content and interactive services to their portal audience. www.tibco.com, www.interwoven.com

Liaison Content Exchange 2.0 Powers Electronic Catalogs with Descriptive Content
8/28/2000

Liaison announced the availability of Liaison Content Exchange 2.0. Liaison Content Exchange automatically extracts, aggregates and rationalizes data, providing B2B exchanges with the descriptive content necessary to drive purchasing decisions. Liaison Content Exchange software is used by eMarketplaces and large manufacturers. eMarketplaces (trading exchanges) use Content Exchange to automate the process of building and maintaining substantial electronic catalogs consisting of thousands of suppliers and millions of products. Large manufacturers use Content Exchange software to automatically structure product content for e-procurement applications used by their customers, as well as private and third-party eMarketplaces and commerce portals. Liaison Content Exchange automates the gathering of data and is based on Adaptive Content Recognition technology that extracts content from Web pages and other sources, then transforms the content into structured data, greatly reducing the time and expense associated with gathering this type of information. Liaison Content Exchange 2.0 will be available in September directly from Liaison and solution partners. The software is licensed on an annual licensing basis, starting at $140,000. The software requires a Pentium II 450 MHz processor, 256 MB of RAM, 6 MB of free disk space/250 MB for data capture and audit logs, ISDN 128 K, Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 or later, and Windows NT 4.0 SP 4 or later for operation. www.liaison.com

Interwoven Launches Content Interchange Framework
8/16/2000

Interwoven Inc. announced the launch of Interwoven Content Interchange, a new framework that addresses the needs of the exploding B2B marketplace. The Interwoven Content Interchange Framework consists of three core elements: eBusiness Network Collaboration, Enterprise Integration, and Integration to Exchange-based Services. eBusiness network collaboration offers content management services across the extended enterprise. eBusiness network collaboration enables disparate entities to share information and coordinate development in a secure, distributed environment. The framework includes an XML repository, distributed authoring and versioning, distributed XML-based workflow for inter-enterprise, advanced content replication and re-use, advanced XML syndication, index and search of XML-based objects, and directory service-based rights management. Enterprise integration includes the comprehensive set of eBusiness data adapters and catalog management services needed to access diverse information sources, drive content development and tagging, and format and deliver content to varying audiences. Leveraging the open, standards-based architecture of Interwoven and partner solutions, the Interwoven Content Interchange framework addresses connections back to supply-chain and legacy information. Exchange-based services include the set of value-added applications used to drive complex, document-driven transactions and supply-chain integrations over the Web using the collaboration services of an eBusiness network. Examples of content being exchanged in an e-business network include bid/offer, SKU's and product specifications, identity management, insurance and financial services, and logistics. www.interwoven.com

Microsoft Announces of BizTalk Server 2000 Beta
8/14/2000

Microsoft Corp. announced the public availability of the beta version of Microsoft BizTalk Server 2000. A member of the .NET Enterprise Server family of products, BizTalk Server 2000 will unite, in a single product EAI, B2B integration and the BizTalk Orchestration technology to allow developers, IT professionals and business analysts to easily build dynamic business processes that span applications, platforms and businesses over the Internet. BizTalk Orchestration technology builds on the Visio diagramming platform for building dynamic, distributed business processes, and an advanced orchestration engine for executing and managing those processes. BizTalk Server 2000 supports a multitude of transports and protocols in addition to XML, including EDI (X12 and UN EDIFACT), HTTP, HTTPS, Microsoft Message Queue Server (MSMQ), SMTP (e-mail), and flat file transfer. BizTalk Server 2000 also supports industry-standard security technologies such as public key encryption and digital signatures to ensure secure document exchange with trading partners, and XLANG, an XML-based language for describing business processes. The beta version of BizTalk Server 2000 is available immediately for download at www.microsoft.com/biztalkserver

Overdrive Announces Free eBook Authoring & Production Tool for Microsoft Reader
8/14/2000

OverDrive, Inc. announced the release of its ReaderWorks Standard software which is available as a free download at www.readerworks.com. ReaderWorks Standard is an authoring tool that allows educators, authors, publishers, business professionals and others to convert their documents, text, images, or web content into Microsoft Reader eBooks. Concurrent with the release of the free Standard version, OverDrive also announced the release of its commercial eBook product, ReaderWorks Publisher. Publisher provides all the capabilities of Standard plus the ability to customize cover art and other title data used by resellers and eBookstores to promote, manage and protect digital rights for online sales. Publisher is available at the readerworks.com web portal at an introductory price of $119, a 20% discount off the suggested list price. The announcement also included the release of ReaderWorks Software Developers Kit (SDK), Version 1.0, which provides an ActiveX toolset to automate the production of eBooks in Reader format, and allows developers to add "save as Reader" capacity to their applications or for development of large eBook conversion applications. ReaderWorks software brings point and click technology to the ePublishing industry for conversion of text, HTML, images, and other content to Microsoft Reader and Open eBook format. The Commercial ReaderWorks suite is designed to support marketing and metadata in XML, XrML, OEB, ONIX formats for eBook resellers. www.readerworks.com

eGrail Delivers Content Management to the Masses
8/14/2000

eGrail Inc. released the kernel of its commercial software product to the Open Source development community. The eGrail Source software will be available at www.egrail.org. This site will focus solely on providing technical services to Open Source developers. eGrail also announced its adoption of a hybrid business model that represents a new and improved approach for the building, distribution and support of Internet software. eGrail is committed to developing efficient Open Source software that can be produced at a lower cost than most vendors currently in the market. eGrail is an enterprise-capable content management software that runs completely on Open Source infrastructure. www.egrail.com

This is welcome, but we're not sure "content management for the masses" is the right way to describe it. Open source content management tools for IT is probably more accurate.

arcadiaOne & Easypress to Offer Cross-Media Publishing & Syndication
8/14/2000

arcadiaOne, Inc. and easypress announced a partnership to provide end-to-end publishing and syndication solutions. The integrated offerings will empower publishers to automate the way they acquire content from other publishers, and sell both aggregated and internally created content into virtually any digital media channel, such as Web, broadband, WAP, etc. As part of their agreement, easypress will offer both an ASP-style online service for electronic-syndication as well as resell arcadiaOne's Enterprise server, along with providing consulting and technology integration services to joint customers. The ASP service – easySyndicate Online – is powered by arcadiaOne, and will enable publishers to rapidly and cost-effectively automate distribution of selective and defined content to multiple media channels. To content creators, this opens up new opportunities to expand their distribution and market reach, while preserving their brand. www.arcadiaOne.com, www.easypress.com

IntraNet Solutions Releases Xpedio 4.0
8/14/2000

IntraNet Solutions announced the release of Xpedio 4.0, a new version of the Xpedio Content Management system with enhanced security and business personalization features for B2B and business-to-employee (B2E) customers. Xpedio 4.0 is designed to meet businesses' growing demand for the ability to contribute, manage, publish and personalize content for business Web sites more efficiently. Xpedio 4.0 includes Xpedio's two primary components - Xpedio Content Publisher and Xpedio Content Server. This upgrade enhances those components' ability to simplify and automate the contribution and conversion of any type of content, ranging from desktop applications to forms and reports, to any Web format, such as PDF, HTML, XML or WML, with new security, business personalization and Web site development features. Xpedio 4.0's business personalization features are based on centralized user authentication and security mapping combined with business rules. Xpedio 4.0 enables security integration with popular existing systems, such as LDAP, NT, Netegrity and NDS, and allows extensible user information for greater business personalization. Additionally, Xpedio 4.0 provides HTML form-based contribution and HTML page preview for converted content. Xpedio 4.0 also includes query-driven publishing, which allows the system to automatically select and publish content based on metadata. Xpedio 4.0 will also include product modules available in Xpedio: Xpedio WAM, a system for managing Web assets, and Xpedio Reporter Parser, which parses reports from enterprise applications and converts them to XML, HTML, PDF or text formats for secure publishing to the Web. Xpedio 4.0 is shipping now and is priced from $40,000-$180,000 USD. www.intranetsolutions.com

MobileQ Launches Upgrade for Secure, Multi-Device Delivery of Wireless Applications
8/11/2000

MobileQ, Inc. announced an upgraded version of its software that enables companies to provide easier access to information and a more intuitive user experience for employees and customers using any wireless device. XMLEdge 2.5 is the latest iteration of MobileQ's enterprise-grade infrastructure software. Based on XML, XMLEdge enables companies to deliver banking, customer relationship management, road-side assistance and other vertical applications to numerous mobile devices. Companies can deliver information to users in a manner that is easy to manipulate, consistent across all devices, and optimized for the features and functionality of each appliance, enabling every user to work in a way that's most efficient and intuitive for them. XMLEdge is flexible enough to support any business application, from personal information management and messaging to custom line of business applications. The upgraded version allows enterprises to: Deliver data to the newest mobile devices, including Palm III and V through Omnisky, RIM 957 and 850, Compaq Pocket PC's and newly available WAP phones such as Nokia 7110. Support for Denso, Ericsson, HP, Mitsubishi, Motorola, NeoPoint, Nokia, Palm VII, Phillips, Qualcomm, RIM, Samsung and Sanyo were already included in XMLEdge 2.0; Ensure more powerful security through data encryption; Deliver applications in Far-East and European languages; Create applications from distributed data sources over multiple locations; Send alerts to mobile customers and employees based upon personal settings; and tailor logging components to facilitate application and IT management while integrating with existing billing systems. www.mobileq.com

Sun & Vignette Join Forces
8/10/2000

Sun Microsystems, Inc. and Vignette Corp. announced a comprehensive global agreement, including joint sales, marketing and engineering services, that will provide e-business hardware and software solutions for companies to build successful online businesses. The companies have agreed to jointly develop e-business solutions initially targeting the fast-growing new media and telecommunication markets, including wireless. With this agreement, Sun and Vignette have significantly expanded their relationship to deliver solutions based on Sun's Sun Enterprise servers, Solaris Operating Environment platform and Java 2, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) technology, and the recently announced Vignette V/5 E-business solutions. Companies will be able to leverage Sun's Java technology to integrate their existing applications with other third-party applications, including the iPlanet Application Server, through Vignette's recently introduced V/5 E-business applications. As part of the agreement, the Vignette solution will be incorporated into Sun's iForce Ready Centers, which will enable customers to gain hands-on experience to help them deploy scalable, extensible portal infrastructures combining e-commerce, relationship management, personalization, content management and workflow features on an e-business platform. www.vignette.com, www.sun.com

Note that this is complements (from Vignette's point of view) the deal with IBM (see below).

Accrue to Acquire Pilot Software
8/10/2000

Accrue Software, Inc. announced that it has signed a letter of agreement to acquire Pilot Software, Inc. The terms of the proposed stock for stock transaction have not been disclosed. Pilot Software develops Web-enabled decision support and business intelligence applications for the enterprise. This acquisition complements Accrue's existing applications for campaign, content, commerce and affiliate analysis by adding several new clicks-and-mortar applications for the analysis of merchandising, inventory, and operations for both on-line and Point-Of-Sale (POS) transactions. These applications provide instant access to detailed SKU information for markdown and promotions planning, pricing and cannibalization analysis, return on inventory, and stocks and returns. When coupled with Accrue's existing assortment optimization and seasonal demand profiling applications, Assort and Profile, clicks-and-mortar businesses can avoid unnecessary discounting, minimize out-of-stocks, exploit hidden buying patterns, and better personalize the buying experience to individual shoppers. www.accrue.com

Xyvision Enterprise Solutions Joins Citrix Network
8/10/2000

Xyvision Enterprise Solutions, Inc. announced it has joined the Citrix Systems, Inc. Citrix Solutions Network as a Gold Solutions Provider. XyEnterprise will sell and support Citrix application server computing solutions, including the MetaFrame product to companies in the aerospace, automotive, high technology, financial, and commercial publishing markets. Through this agreement, XyEnterprise will offer its Parlance Content Manager and XML Professional Publisher (XPP) software solutions via Citrix thin client connections. This solution will provide users with remote access to desktop or server based applications such as Parlance or XPP without requiring the installation of client software on the local desktop. It will also enable XyEnterprise Professional Services to deliver a full line of customer services through remote system control, diagnostics and software updates. As a CSN member, XyEnterprise will provide consultation, installation, integration and support for the Citrix application server product line, which offers a high-performance, cost-effective way to deploy, access and manage business-critical applications throughout an enterprise. www.xyenterprise.com

SoftQuad Joins Ariba Supplier Initiative
8/10/2000

SoftQuad Software, Ltd. announced that it has joined the Ariba Inc. supplier enablement initiative and will integrate its products into the Ariba B2B Commerce Platform using the Ariba Commerce Services Network (CSN). SoftQuad's XML-based content solutions, XMetaL and MarketAgility, combined with the Ariba CSN, provide suppliers with a single, Internet-based point of access and integration with buyers and marketplaces worldwide. Ariba CSN also provides SoftQuad's customers with efficient trading mechanisms and commerce processes such as systems integration services, global supplier directories, sourcing tools, B2B auctions and reverse auctions, logistics and supplier enablement, electronic payment and streamlined transaction services. Further, SoftQuad will collaborate with Ariba on the continued development of cXML. SoftQuad will use cXML to integrate its B2B solutions with the Ariba B2B Commerce Platform. www.softquad.com

OpenTravel Alliance Publishes Profile Specs & Submits Them to ebXML
8/10/2000

The OpenTravel Alliance (OTA) published its Version 1 specifications that gives the travel industry one universal format for collecting and exchanging customer preferences among airlines, hotels, car rental companies, tour operators, travel agencies, and related services. The OTA customer profile has innovative features to make life easier for travelers. The common format allows the travel industry and its web sites to collect information on identification and preferences only once and exchange it with suppliers of travel services as well as their intermediaries. The specification lets customers define collections of travel service in terms of their own varied needs, such as business travel or the annual church retreat. OTA Version 1 also contains comprehensive privacy features that enable the customer to control any transfer of personal data. The built-in controls allow only specified parts of the profile to be exchanged. The specifications include DTDs, as well as many sample OTA messages. The drafts of these that were issued in February 2000 generated comments from all over the world, from both inside and outside the travel industry. The final specifications released today incorporate these, which have significantly strengthened Version 1. They can be freely downloaded from www.opentravel.org. OTA participates in the ebXML initiative to develop a single XML message infrastructure to facilitate communication between different businesses and industries in different countries. ebXML used OTA's draft sample messages as part of its proof of concept tests at its May meeting in Brussels, Belgium. As a further contribution to ebXML, OTA is providing its Version 1 specifications. OTA is keen to align its specifications with those in other industries, including the work of the CPExchange initiative, and sees ebXML as an effective way of doing this. With over 150 members representing influential names in all sectors of the travel industry, including air, car, hotel, travel agencies, technology providers and other travel related suppliers, the Alliance is comprised of five work groups air, car, hotel, leisure supplier, and non-supplier. These groups, together with an interoperability committee to coordinate their efforts, are developing open Internet-compatible messages using XML data terms. www.opentravel.org

NetGenesis Announces WAP Support
8/9/2000

NetGenesis Corp. announced support for analyzing customer behavior over WAP servers, helping e-businesses that market to wireless devices analyze and improve the success of campaigns. NetGenesis' Wireless InfraMarketing reports enable e-retailers, content providers and financial and B2B sites, to improve wireless marketing campaigns, content and e-commerce programs by analyzing crucial wireless E-metrics and making better business decisions around them. NetGenesis' InfraMarketing provides a clear snapshot of customer activity. It reveals customer behavior over time and provides predictive analysis, an analytic baseline to enable e-businesses to predict their customers' activity patterns and help them target their customers more efficiently based on these profiles. With predictive analysis, e-businesses can begin to anticipate what customers may buy and forecast purchase behaviors. InfraMarketing also allows e-businesses to measure InfraMetrics, the key metrics needed to succeed on the Web. InfraMetrics allow e-businesses to drill deeper into customer interests and segments to track individual behaviors and clickstream patterns for more effective marketing campaigns. www.netgen.com

Extol Announces EDI-to-XML Integrator Release 5.0
8/8/2000

EXTOL, Inc., announced the availability of the EXTOL Integrator Release 5.0 for AS/400 and Windows NT. The highlights of Release 5.0 are XML transformation, a new Web browser-based user interface developed in Java, Enhanced Formula Processing, and Internet Commerce security. The flagship feature of Release 5.0 is XML transformation, which takes standard EDI element IDs and converts them to XML tags. EXTOL creates and uses the XML style sheets that accompany the incoming documents, allowing any user to look at the data in a very readable format. An XML document can be processed as data, attached to e-mail, or sent as a fax. Release 5.0 introduces a new user interface for EXTOL Integrator 400 and EXTOL Integrator NT, reflecting the general industry trend towards Web browser-based user interfaces. Another key feature of Release 5.0 is Enhanced Formula Processing, which allows a user-defined formula (arithmetic or logical) to be applied to both inbound and outbound operations, reducing the need for external programming to process transactions. The EXTOL Integrator now ships with pre-written samples and many options for creating additional routines. Release 5.0 of the EXTOL Integrator includes support for EXTOL's Internet Commerce, a separately licensed product. This upgrade is a simple and automatic process. All existing trading partner definitions, transaction maps, and application file sets remain intact, without change. Any version of the EXTOL Integrator from Release 3.3 and higher may be upgraded to Release 5.0 in a single step. www.extol.com

Netscape 6 Preview Release 2 Available
8/8/2000

Netscape Communications announced the availability of Netscape 6 Preview Release 2 via free download from www.netscape.com/download. Preview Release 2 includes: "Themes" allow users to change the look of the browser by applying different combinations of design elements or "skins;" Netscape WebMail access directly from Netscape 6 Mail combines the Netscape Mail application with the flexibility and connectivity of WebMail; A new strong-crypto protected Password Manager builds on the privacy and security offerings of Cookie Manager and offers users the convenience of streamlining and protected Password use across the Internet; and New My Sidebar features, including My Sidebar Central and My Sidebar Directory, as well as additional partnerships. Netscape 6 also features additional support for International users. Netscape Preview Release 2 is also available today in Japanese. German and French language versions will become available within 30 days. All releases allow users to easily switch language user interfaces, buttons and menus, and regional settings through a Language/Region Selector. Netscape 6 will also automatically detect character sets so users will automatically be able to view foreign language sites without being prompted to choose the appropriate character. In addition, international users can now access their existing US-based WebMail accounts through their localized browser. www.netscape.com

Tibco Announces Acquisition of Extensibility
8/3/2000

TIBCO Software Inc announced it has agreed to acquire Extensibility, Inc. in a stock transaction valued at approximately $100 million. Extensibility software is used to design and process XML schemas, computer "vocabularies" that enable e-businesses to create and exchange complex digital documents and validate electronic commerce transactions. Combining TIBCO's current XML and schema management capabilities with Extensibility's leading technologies will allow customers to create entirely new types of software applications to more quickly and easily conduct business over the Internet. In addition to incorporating Extensibility's technologies into its own products, TIBCO will continue to market and enhance stand-alone Extensibility products. Completion of the acquisition is subject to customary regulatory review. The acquisition will be accounted for under the purchase method of accounting. TIBCO is in the process of evaluating the allocation of the purchase price to the assets to be acquired, which will include in-process technology that will be written off in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2000, and goodwill and intangibles, which will be amortized over the benefit period. www.tibco.com, www.extensibility.com

Whew!

IBM & Vignette Develop Strategic Alliance
8/3/2000

IBM and Vignette Corp. announced a global strategic alliance to meet growing e-marketplace demands in retail, financial and NetGen (dotcom) sectors. The alliance integrates Vignette’s V/5 E-business applications with IBM’s WebSphere e-business platform. Together, the two companies will supply customers with e-business solutions that grow market share, reduce deployment times and provide the infrastructure for each stage of e-business development. The integration will enhance the family of WebSphere products, including WebSphere Commerce Suite and WebSphere Application Server, which currently provide a fully integrated middleware solution. The multi-year agreement includes joint marketing, services and helping Vignette to integrate on WebSphere Application Server. IBM and Vignette’s initial focus will be in the retail, financial and "Netgen" (dot.com) industries, and both plan to expand to other industries in the coming months. The two organizations will jointly market Vignette V/5 E-business applications and the IBM WebSphere Application Server Platform, WebSphere Commerce Suite, IBM’s DB2 Universal Database and are optimized for IBM’s RS/6000 and Netfinity servers. Dedicated engineering, product marketing and quality assurance teams will manage the integration and optimization of the entire integrated e-business solution. The Vignette V/5 E-business applications will fully support the IBM Application Framework for e-business – a roadmap for integrating Internet technologies with traditional information technologies. In addition, IBM Global Services will grow its worldwide services practice focusing on Vignette V/5’s support of eCRM and e-commerce from 100 IBM services professionals to in excess of 500. Prospective customers will be able to visit IBM’s Business Innovation Centers that will feature Vignette V/5 E-business applications. IBM experts in Vignette products will help customers identify, build, integrate, and deploy solutions that meet their specific business needs. The IBM – Vignette alliance is part of a developer initiative through PartnerWorld for Developers in which IBM forms strategic relationships with application developers. Under the initiative, developers gain access to new customers and revenue opportunities through IBM’s extensive marketing, sales, and solutions resources. At the same time, developers lead with IBM’s middleware, server platforms and services. www.ibm.com, www.vignette.com

Vertical Announces Betas of XML Catalog Enabler Agent & XML Database Agent
8/3/2000

Vertical Computer Systems Inc. announced the official beta release of two of its MLE (Markup Language Executive) Solutions Suite products: the XML Catalog Enabler Agent and the XML Database Agent. The XML Catalog Enabler Agent is directed toward B2B e-commerce applications, and the XML Database Agent is directed mainly toward internal operations of organizations. Both products enable advanced interoperability in B2B, B2G and B2C e-commerce. They are server-based tools that allow data to be fetched from an SQL relational database via http. Both work on Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Linux. The XML Catalog Enabler Agent will enable vendors to enter the e-procurement business quickly via XML. The general availability for these two products is scheduled for Sept. 30, 2000. www.vcsy.com

W3C Issues Scalable Vector Graphics as Candidate Recommendation
8/2/2000

The World Wide Web Consortium has issued Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) as a W3C Candidate Recommendation. Advancement of the document to Candidate Recommendation is an invitation to the Web development community at large to make implementations of SVG and provide technical feedback. Web designers have requirements for graphics formats which display well on a range of different devices, screen sizes, and printer resolutions. They need rich graphical capabilities, good internationalization, responsive animation and interactive behavior in a way that takes advantage of the growing XML infrastructure used in e-commerce, publishing, and B2B communication. Web designers demand vendor-neutral, cross-platform interoperability. SVG brings the advantages of XML to the world of vector graphics. It enables the textual content of graphics - from logos to diagrams - to be searched, indexed, and displayed in multiple languages. This is a significant benefit for both accessibility and internationalization. Related W3C specifications such as the Document Object Model (DOM) allow for easy server-side generation and dynamic, client-side modification of graphics and text. SVG also benefits from W3C technologies such as CSS and XSL style sheets, RDF metadata, SMIL Animation and XML Linking. In addition to being an excellent format for stand-alone graphics, the full power of SVG is seen when it is combined with other XML grammars; for example to deliver multimedia applications, hold business data, or render mathematical expressions. Bringing the XML advantage to vector graphics benefits all industries that depend on rich graphics delivery - advertising, electronic commerce, process control, mapping, financial services, and education all have immediate needs for SVG. The SVG Working Group consists of key industry and research players including, in alphabetical order: Adobe Systems, AOL/Netscape, Apple, Autodesk, Canon, Corel, CSIRO, Eastman Kodak, Excosoft, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, ILOG, IntraNet Systems, Macromedia, Microsoft, OASIS, Opera, Oxford Brookes University, Quark, Sun Microsystems, and Xerox. www.w3.org

There is a lot of support for the development of this, but there hasn't been much in the way of adoption yet.

Sun Delivers Tools to Help Developers Leverage XML for Graphics
8/2/2000

Sun Microsystems, Inc. announced the beta availability of the 2D graphics SVG generator software, downloadable for no charge at www.sun.com/xml. This easy-to-use tool, developed by Sun's XML Technology Center leverages the power and growing ubiquity of XML. XML's universal, standards-based syntax will play an important role in graphics rendering as well as data portability and usability, and Sun is meeting developer demand for the needed tools in these areas. Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is in development at the World W3C and is a file format that describes two-dimensional vector graphics in XML. SVG has many advantages over graphics formats in use today, such as JPEG or GIF. Since SVG is a plain text format, its files are readable and generally smaller than comparable graphical images. SVG images are also "zoomable" or "scalable", meaning users can zoom in on a particular area of a graphic, such as a map, and not experience any image degradation. Because SVG is scalable, SVG images can be printed with high quality at any resolution. Text within an SVG-based image, such as a city name on a map, is both selectable and searchable. Applications written in SVG can be made accessible through means for describing the visual information in textual detail. Lastly, SVG supports scripting and animation, which enables dynamic, interactive graphics. For more information on SVG, visit www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG. As well, Sun announced the availability of the SVG slide toolkit software, also available free of charge at www.sun.com/xml. This software is a collection of XML stylesheets and DTDs that help users to create XML documents that can be transformed into richly graphical, interactive SVG-based slide presentations. The software's advantage is that it allows for the separation of a presentation's content from its look and feel, enabling users to independently modify the content, the presentation style or both. http://sun.com

Navision Releases XBRL Solution
8/2/2000

Navision Software announced that it has released its XBRL solution, one day after the publication of the official XML-based taxonomy. XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) is a free specification that first appeared on the financial and accounting scene in October of 1999. It uses a financial reporting specification, agreed upon by key members of the financial information supply chain that allows an open exchange of financial reporting data across all software and technologies, including the Internet. The XBRL coding contained in Navision Financials 2.50 will enable customers to more easily and efficiently connect and communicate with both competing products in the ERP space and complementary products such as Caseware. For example, a set of subsidiary offices using Navision Financials can now more quickly collaborate with a parent office using a larger ERP system, while realizing significant time and cost savings. XBRL offers several key benefits: technology independence, full interoperability, efficient preparation of financial statements, and reliable extraction of financial information. Information is entered only once, allowing that same information to be rendered in any form, such as a printed financial statement, an HTML document for the company's Web site, an EDGAR filing document with the SEC, a raw XML file or other specialized reporting formats, such as credit reports or loan documents. www.navision-us.com

Portal Wave Partners with iDini
8/2/2000

Portal Wave, Inc. and iDini announced a strategic partnership to extend the Portal Wave Application Portal Server (APS) to the mobile workforce. iDini's wireless extension to APS enables access and transactional capability to enterprise applications via wireless PDAs or internet-enabled mobile phones. As partners, Portal Wave and iDini are working together to promote and sell the wireless extension of the APS to enterprise customers. Portal Wave is currently offering demonstrations of iDini's wireless extension. www.idini.com, www.portalwave.com

Extensibility Upgrades XML Instance - Schema-Driven XML Data Editor
8/2/2000

Extensibility, Inc. announced the release of XML Instance 1.1. A schema-driven data editor, XML Instance can create, edit, and manage data-oriented XML business documents (i.e. instance documents), messages, and configuration files. It is a key component of the recently launched Turbo XML – the packaged suite of XML Instance, XML Authority and XML Console. This new release enables data from an ODBC data source to be imported and deployed throughout the organization as XML data – offering a means to integrate and reuse legacy information. In addition, XML Instance now features XSLT stylesheet transformation facilities, which provide full data management through the support of XSLT editing and processing. Through an XSLT stylesheet, an XML business document can be transformed into another XML business document or viewed in a HTML format on a web browser. This facility allows an organization to take data and present or use the information based on the specific needs of the business. New features include: XSLT stylesheet transformation facilities, data importing from an ODBC data source, support for all encoding types supported by Java, improved namespace support, and new options for customizing document display. XML Instance 1.1 is available for free to existing users. XML Instance runs on Windows (95/98/2000/NT), UNIX, and Mac and is available for immediate download at www.extensibility.com/products/download.htm. Licensing is available for single users ($99.95) and in multi-user x-packs (5-user $449.95; 10-user $849.95; 50-user $3995.00). www.extensibility.com

Kinecta Signs Percussion as Embedded Solutions Partner
8/1/2000

Kinecta Corporation announced it has signed on Percussion Software as its newest embedded solutions partner. Kinecta is integrating its Kinecta Interact syndication platform with content management system vendors such as Percussion to facilitate the distribution of digital content and to help drive industry adoption of the ICE (Information and Content Exchange) protocol. Percussion Software will integrate Kinecta Interact with its Rhythmyx 2.0 content management platform to provide customers with an automatic content delivery solution. The combined solution will allow Percussion Software's customers to extend their online content initiatives while unlocking new revenue opportunities through increased content partnerships. www.kinecta.com

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