Microsoft Corp. announced the release to manufacturing, pricing and licensing of Microsoft BizTalk Server 2000. The latest release in the Microsoft .NET Enterprise Server family, BizTalk Server 2000 is a comprehensive solution that unites enterprise application integration, B2B integration and BizTalk Orchestration technology to allow companies to easily build dynamic business processes that span applications and organizational boundaries. Enterprise Edition. BizTalk Server 2000 Enterprise Edition is targeted at large organizations, trading hubs and digital marketplaces and has support for integrating unlimited internal applications with unlimited trading partners over the Internet. BizTalk Server 2000 Enterprise Edition will support multiple processor and clustering deployments to handle even the largest transaction volumes. The suggested retail price for BizTalk Server 2000 Enterprise Edition is $24,999 per CPU. Standard Edition. BizTalk Server 2000 Standard Edition is targeted at small and medium-sized organizations and has support for integrating up to five internal applications with up to five external trading partners, such as exchanges or digital marketplaces. Intended for small to medium-sized transaction volumes, the standard edition will not have support for multiprocessor or clustered deployments. The suggested retail price of BizTalk Server 2000 Standard Edition is $4,999 per CPU. BizTalk Server 2000 is scheduled to be generally available in January 2001. Microsoft today also published the final version of its BizTalk Framework 2.0 specification. Based on industry standards for data exchange and security such as SOAP 1.1, XML and S/MIME, the BizTalk Framework enables the secure and reliable exchange of business documents over the Internet. Development of the BizTalk Framework is overseen by the BizTalk Steering Committee, which comprises industry partners, consortiums and standards bodies. www.microsoft.com
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PyBiz announced a change of policy that makes the use of XDisect, their high-speed XML indexing and search engine free during the development phase of customer projects. PyBiz had been working with pilot customers for evaluation of its XDisect product in an enterprise environment. The December release of XDisect has been greatly improved as a result of incorporating this valuable customer feedback. XDisect now offers very high speed indexing capabilities. It also includes the ability to make incremental changes to the XML data. The new version can easily index millions of XML documents. XDisect supports index sizes of greater than 2 Gigabyte on Windows NT/2000, Solaris and Linux. It has an open XML/HTTP API to make integration to all major programming environments simple and easy. Queries against XML documents can now be done using the standard SQL Language. Since most application developers are familiar with SQL, it makes working with XDisect very rapid. The addition of a new browser based GUI environment helps programmers understand the structure and semantics of their XML data very easily. www.pybiz.com
IntraNet Solutions, Inc. announced the release of Xpedio 4.5, the latest version of its Xpedio Content Management system. The Xpedio 4.5 release includes enhancements to Xpedio’s two primary components – Xpedio Content Server and Xpedio Content Publisher – as well as the addition of two new components, Xpedio Dynamic Converter and Xpedio Content Categorizer. Xpedio 4.5 continues to provide rapid deployment, enabling companies to have operational business Web sites up and running in days or weeks. With Xpedio Dynamic Converter, based on dynamic conversion technology from the Information Exchange Division which IntraNet Solutions acquired in July 2000, site developers have the option of converting and delivering Web content from the native source to HTML dynamically upon user request, as opposed to publishing all content to the Web site at the same time. Xpedio Content Categorizer allows content to be automatically categorized and tagged, rather than manually, when input by individuals or in a batch process, which is useful when there is a large amount of content to be entered or when the source content changes frequently. The enhanced Xpedio Content Publisher now enables users to publish content to WML standards that are specific to mobile phone microbrowsers, including Nokia and Phone.com. Xpedio 4.5 will be available in mid-December 2000. Expanded wireless support will be included in Xpedio Content Publisher, priced at $30,000 USD. Xpedio Content Categorizer will be sold as an optional module and is priced at $50,000 USD. Xpedio Dynamic Converter will also be sold as an optional module, priced at $30,000 USD. All other features will be available as part of the core Xpedio Content Server, priced at $175,000 USD. www.intranetsolutions.com
Representatives of the IEEE Learning Technology Standards Committee Learning Objects Metadata (LTSC-LOM) Working Group and the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding outlining the commitment to develop mutual interoperable metadata for technology-supported learning, education and training tools. The MOU signifies that a core set of specifications and accredited standards is emerging to support an interoperable infrastructure for worldwide e-learning technology. Ready access to comprehensive repositories of metadata is increasingly noted by developers of Web-enabled learning technology products as a critical factor in the next generation of learning and knowledge creation. However, to be useful, that metadata must be highly interoperable and reusable worldwide. The agreement signals a path forward for how education and training practitioners engaged in developing metadata can best support e-learning. Representatives from concurring projects sponsored by the following organizations support the joint effort between the IEEE LTSC-LOM and DCMI: ARIADNE (Alliance of Remote Instructional Authoring and Distribution Networks for Europe), EdNA (Education Network Australia), GEM (Gateway to Educational Materials), and the IMS Global Learning Consortium. http://purl.org/dc/
Epicentric, Inc. announced that it has entered into an alliance with Documentum, Inc. Epicentric will integrate its E-Business Network platform with the Portal Edition of Documentum’s 4i eBusiness content management platform. The integration will allow joint customers of Epicentric’s E-Business Network platform and Documentum’s 4i Portal Edition to take advantage of Documentum’s content management and collaboration capabilities within the networked business communities that were created through Epicentric. By implementing Epicentric’s E-Business Network platform with Documentum’s content management platform, Global 2000 companies can accelerate the delivery of up-to-date strategic information across networked business communities. Key information, such as sales data or market research, can be instantly accessed and shared with the employees, partners or customers who require the data. Epicentric’s integration framework enables companies to deliver a unique, privately branded interface to each business community and users to tailor the information to meet their personal needs. www.documentum.com, www.epicentric.com
Microsoft Corp. announced the release of the beta specification for XML for Analysis — a new protocol that extends the Microsoft business intelligence strategy to the Microsoft.NET vision of Web services, allowing application developers to provide analytic capabilities to any client on any device or platform using any programming language. Built on HTTP, XML and SOAP with more than 50 industry players instrumental in its development. As an extension to OLE DB for OLAP and OLE DB for Data Mining, XML for Analysis uses the Internet as the platform for building analytical applications from diverse sources of data, thus enabling developers to provide better Web services for analytic data. Corporations can now allow trading partners, customers and suppliers to access data easily and securely over the Web without worrying about client operating system, application language or middleware compatibility issues. XML for Analysis expands access to business intelligence by increasing the flexibility for developers to incorporate analytical data within applications that reside remotely on the Internet, or even those that are hosted by another company. Users can achieve a new level of pervasive data analysis because they have access to data from any client ranging from a PDA to an Internet-enabled phone, interactive TV device, laptop computer or PC. XML for Analysis is a fully compatible advancement to the OLE DB for OLAP and OLE DB for Data Mining protocols. The beta specification of XML for Analysis is now available for download at www.microsoft.com/data. A beta software development kit of XML for Analysis is planned to be available for download in early 2001, and final specification and software for XML for Analysis are scheduled to be available in the first half of 2001. www.microsoft.com
TIBCO Software Inc. announced XML Canon/Developer (XCD). XCD, the first member of the XML Canon family, is a development platform that enables the life cycle management of XML-based business rules in a Web-accessible repository. XCD allows businesses to dynamically create and adapt XML-based standards that facilitate collaboration for e-business internally and with trading partners, customers and industry groups. The XML Canon product line supports the diverse requirements and various stages of XML development organizations are implementing. First to be launched is XCD for organizations developing and deploying XML infrastructure assets (e.g. XML schemas, DTDs, instance documents, stylesheets, or adjuncts.) Key Features include: managing business rules and taxonomies, web-enabled collaboration, life cycle management, extensible architecture, and full integration across TIBCO Extensibility product family: Turbo XML, XML Authority, XML Instance, and XML Console. XML Canon/Developer will run on Windows 2000, NT 4, SP6 with support for SQL 7.0 SP1 or Oracle 8i. Microsoft IE 5.0 or 5.5 is also required. TIBCO’s Extensibility client interface Turbo XML is also required. To sign-up for the limited early access beta program visit: www.extensibility.com/tibco/solutions/xml_canon/, www.tibco.com
Documentum announced the release of the next generation of its 4i eBusiness Platform. The release features significant enhancements, offering complete support of XML for content management and B2B interchange, as well as full internationalization and multilingual support, automated delivery of content to multiple channels, and integration with industry-leading source code management systems. XML content management provides the basis for streamlining the content creation process by enabling content reuse and automating the generation and delivery of assembled content for multiple channels. This is achieved by adding intelligence to content earlier in the process and separating the creation and delivery processes. Content can now be re-purposed rather than re-created and intelligently transformed and customized to suit the characteristics and formats of different devices and channels (e-commerce sites, portals, PDAs, wireless devices, and online exchanges/marketsites). Full lifecycle, workflow, security, and library services enable organizations to automate their business processes, and sophisticated link management services enable the reuse of content globally. Documentum is actively involved with XML e-business standards organizations, such as OASIS, ebXML, UDDI.org, WAP Forum, and XML.org. Documentum and Arbortext also announced an extension of their partnership integrating Arbortext’s Epic. www.documentum.com
