Smith-Gardner & Associates, Inc., provider of enterprise-wide software solutions to the global direct marketing industry, announces that it is adopting XML for its WebOrder system. WebOrder is an Internet commerce system designed to automate the operations of retailers, direct marketers and manufacturers that are selling through non-store channels. XML provides WebOrder with a powerful facility to share back-end enterprise data with other applications in real-time. In addition, WebOrder’s XML DTDs will facilitate ease of integration into heterogeneous web environments. Intelligent information is formatted in multi-dimensional documents that will simplify the exchange and make it available in a user-friendly format. XML will interpret and standardize data from WebOrder, such as real-time inventory status, customer records, customer order history, customer preferences, demographics and further enterprise information. The addition of XML broadens WebOrder’s open technologies: common objects, an open API, an SDK and traditional CGI executables. This will allow WebOrder users to exchange data easily with in-house developed applications and other complementary front-end packages by BroadVision, Interworld, IBM, and others. www.smith-gardner.com