Webb Interactive Services, Inc. announced a technology partnership with Switchboard, Inc., focused on bringing Webb’s XML-based community publishing and commerce platform to Switchboard’s network of merchants, users and distribution partners. Switchboard, Inc., a majority-held subsidiary of Banyan Worldwide is a leading Internet directory that represents thousands of merchants nationwide. Webb’s XML-based Internet publishing and advertising platform will strengthen online business/consumer interaction in areas such as offer management and comparison-shopping. This will allow consumers to easily find merchants who best fit their needs, and merchants will be able to interact with targeted consumers more effectively. Switchboard will integrate Webb’s technology into its merchant services on Switchboard.com and through its distribution network. No financial terms of the partnership were disclosed. The partnership with Switchboard is the first deployment of Webb’s e-commerce platform using XML. www.webb.net
Month: July 1999 (Page 7 of 8)
OASIS, the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards, announced the restructuring of its membership requirements, widely expanding access to its XML interoperability technical work. The non-profit consortium, which was previously open only to companies who use or provide products or services based on structured information standards such as XML, SGML and CGM, added new membership categories for individuals and associate XML industry groups. Interested parties may apply for membership online at www.oasis-open.org. OASIS membership levels now include Sponsors, Contributors, Individuals and Associates. Organizations participate in OASIS as either Sponsors or Contributors, based on the level of benefits they wish to receive. Sponsors, who take advantage of comprehensive technical and marketing benefits, support the consortium for 9500 USD annually. Contributors, who also benefit from OASIS marketing and technical work, pay 5000 USD (companies with ten or more employees) or 2500 USD (companies with fewer than ten employees). The new Individual Membership, at 250 USD per year, is offered to those who wish to participate in OASIS technical activities. Like all members, Individuals have the right to attend all OASIS general meetings, and they can fully participate in all working groups. At this level, membership is on an individual basis and is not transferable to other individuals. OASIS supports the development of XML specifications by offering an Associate Membership to individuals representing application or industry standards bodies. Associates, who pay 250 USD annually, are individuals appointed by an industry consortium or standards body (recognized as such by the OASIS Board of Directors) to represent the interests of that body in OASIS. Representatives enjoy the same rights and level of service as Individuals; the difference is that representation is transferable between individuals if the designated contact person for the represented organization gives notice. This allows continuity of participation by an organization even when it is necessary to change designated representatives. www.oasis-open.org
Intergraph Corporation announced its Spatially Enabled Document Management System (SEDMS), a new solution combining geographic information systems (GIS) and document management technology with products from Intergraph, SpatialENTERPRISE and FileNET. These companies have merged their technologies to create a geographically oriented document management solution. Now available, SEDMS is web-enabled allowing a variety of users, such as government and transportation professionals, to quickly and easily access business-critical information on the enterprise network, from an intranet or the Internet. SEDMS is comprised of GeoMedia, Panagon Document Services, and SpatialENTERPRISE. Intergraph’s GeoMedia combines seamless data integration with all major GIS vendor formats and an open development platform for creating custom applications. FileNET’s Panagon Document Services information repository enables document management and can view over 200 file types, offering flexibility and reliability. The SpatialENTERPRISE solution links GeoMedia and Panagon Document Services into an integrated environment. With this new SEDMS solution, document access and map displays can all be conducted from a single window. For example, parcels of land can be associated not only with the usual attributes such as area, valuation and owner name, but also with documents such as permit applications, building photographs and crime statistics. Likewise, bridges can be linked to traditional data such as bridge rating, height and width, and also with information such as inspection reports, design drawings and video logs. www.intergraph.com
OASIS announced that in response to recent announcements including the XML.org industry portal, record numbers of XML users and vendors have joined OASIS, the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards. In this, its sixth year since being founded as SGML Open, OASIS has seen membership increase 300 percent. New OASIS Sponsor members include Documentum, Interwoven, Microsoft, Object Design, Reuters, and Wavo. IBM, NIST and Synthbank have upgraded their previous membership to Sponsor-level status. Also joining OASIS as Contributor members are Bluestone Software, CourseNet Systems, Extensibility, GE Information Services, Hynet, iMediation, Novell, ProcureNet and Sequoia Software. www.oasis-open.org
Interleaf announced the establishment of “the e-content company. ” Recognized as a separate business segment, the e-content company is dedicated to the development of XML-based content management solutions for e-business applications. The e-content company develops and delivers BladeRunner, the division’s solution that provides end-to-end content management solution for e-business applications. BladeRunner enables companies to create, manage, and publish e-content – targeted, timely, personalized, intelligent business information – for web-enabled applications using XML as its technology backbone and Microsoft Word for content creation. Companies are able to apply intelligence, structure and style to their business information, generate output in a variety of formats, and dynamically integrate that information with other electronic and business processes in support of their e-business initiatives. BladeRunner enables organizations to leverage information content and facilitate business transactions through the information chain, connecting companies with their customers, suppliers and distributors. In addition to the establishment of the new business segment, the e-content company will launch their own website, www.xmlecontent.com when it goes live on July 12, 1999. www.interleaf.com
Document Sciences announced the general availability of Document Library Services (DLS), version 5.0, a new version of its present document automation application. DLS provides users with an end-to-end solution for compliance document management and document production. DLS provides users with a Windows interface to manage and control the business logic and textual content of regulated documents such as Insurance Policies and Contracts. These documents can then be published through CompuSet, Document Sciences industrial strength composition engine. DLS, version 5.0, extends this capability with two new exciting offerings, DLS Express and DLS Batch for MVS. DLS Express is a new offering from Document Sciences that carries some of the same document automation features of DLS while allowing publishing of output to Microsoft Word. This new offering, with its lower cost, is ideal for smaller companies, for departmental applications, or for distributed production environments. DLS Batch for MVS, the newest member of the DLS family of products, extends high-volume batch production capabilities in the MVS mainframe environment. DLS Batch for MVS increases the throughput capabilities of DLS and facilitates multi-threaded processing. www.docscience.com
Merrill Corporation announced the launch of Merrill EDGAR Advantage, a service to help clients migrate to the Securities Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) new HTML and PDF formats for electronic filing. Merrill EDGAR Advantage also continues to offer clients a direct line to the SEC at the highest speed the SEC allows, ensuring that clients are always able to get a connection at peak filing times. To better serve clients, Merrill EDGAR Advantage has launched a new EDGAR resource Web site that includes news and information relative to EDGAR filings. www.edgaradvantage.com
OASIS, the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards, announced it has received financial commitment from industry for XML.org, the global XML industry portal. IBM, Oracle, SAP and Sun Microsystems have all agreed to support XML.org as Founding Partners, and Commerce One, DataChannel, Documentum, the Graphic Communications Association (GCA) and SoftQuad have demonstrated their support as XML.org Founding Affiliates. XML.org Partners (companies with revenues in excess of $250M US) are expected to contribute 100,000 USD and Affiliates (companies with revenues under $250M US) to provide 25,000 USD annually to fund the industry portal. Initially, the XML.org Steering Committee will be led by these founding organizations, although other companies are welcome to participate in the future by becoming Partners or Affiliates. XML.org ( http://xml.org) is the OASIS XML industry portal that provides accurate, timely information about the application of XML in industrial and commercial settings. XML.org serves as a reference repository for specific XML standards such as vocabularies, DTDs, schemas, and namespaces. www.oasis-open.org
