XML e-commerce serious?

[Didier PH Martin]

Hi,

You can say that business to business to business to governement e-commerce
based on XML is gaining momentum when you have such announcements:

Touted as A "Must Attend" event for EC professionals - Language of 21st
Century Commerce

This is a panel and open forum on the latest in business vocabularies and
processes - Open Applications Org, cXML, BizTalk, CBL, X12/XML, ICE and
others.   Want to make sure your organization will be able to "talk the
right talk", then this event is the place to be.   Learn how to use the
language of the 21st century to sell to DoD, or if you are a catalog
integrator and want to give your customer's this ability, then this is the
place to learn and network.  If you know someone who would be interested in
the event please pass this message along.................................


DLA to host Advanced Technology Track at Electronic Commerce Day

The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) will sponsor a panel discussion in the
Advanced Technology Track of the Joint Electronic Commerce Program Office
(JECPO) 2nd annual DoD Electronic Commerce Conference.

Held on June 10, 1999 at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center in
Washington D.C., the Advanced Technology session will begin with feature
presentation on Highly Distributed Processes used in the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Advanced Logistics Program to identify and
source items.  After lunch the track will continue with a “Language of 21st
Century Commerce.” session, with an overview presented by the XML/EDI Group.

Language of 21st Century Commerce
The session brings together for the first time the major eProcess
initiatives currently underway in defining the languages for conducting
business in the new millennium. In a one-day event, a high-powered panel of
industry visionaries will provide a roadmap for the journey through the
various challenges which lie ahead in electronic commerce, enterprise
resource planning, supply chain management, agent-mediated procurement,
integrated digital environments, collaborative exchanges, legacy
interfacing, EC gateways, and advanced logistics.

The languages to be discussed are: Product Data Markup Language (PDML)
developed by Joint Electronic Commerce Program Office (JECPO); Microsoft
BizTalk; cXML (Commerce XML); CBL (Common Business Language); ICE
(Information & Content Exchange); The XML/EDI Group Implementation
Guidelines; and the efforts of both the Open Applications Group and ANSI X12
EDI Communications and Controls subcommittee on XML.  The Panel will include
members from JECPO, Microsoft, Oracle, Adobe, GEIS (GE Information
Services), CommerceNet and Sterling Commerce.

Using XML (eXtensible Markup Language), as a common grammar to build our
business languages will enable both Web users and business-to-business
electronic processes to exchange and control information seamlessly and
automatically. "An XML/EDI framework makes possible large-scale automation
of electronic commerce, reduces IT system complexity, and will transform
cyberspace.  “The implications to all organizations are nothing short of
amazing.” says Bruce Peat, president of eProcess Solutions and co-founder of
the XML/EDI Group; a grass roots organization with over 1,200 members.
http://www.XMLedi.org

As part of the DLA R&D program to advance use of XML technology, companies
with on-line electronic catalogs are eligible to participate in the DoD
EMALL.   The Defense Supply Center Philadelphia will issue a blanket
purchase agreement that allows companies to display their products and
services to the DoD EMALL customer.  The customer can order items from the
EMALL using their Government purchase card.  The first hand experience
gained from using XML in an end to end business process will provide the
experience needed influence the technical developments and to obtain maximum
benefits from the technology.

The Department of Defense’s JECPO sponsors Electronic Commerce Day. This
year’s theme, Electronic Business in Action, highlights the use of
commercial electronic commerce technology to support the warfighter and
streamline business processes.

The EC Day General Session includes remarks by The Honorable Dr. John J