XML Make Sense of XML Standards Interoperability and integration between business partners and suppliers rely on an open communications infrastructure that can handle any XML-based standard. In a perfect world, standards precede product development, and a common standard is the ideal. With investors, shareholders, and Wall Street watching ever more closely, e-businesses can't afford to wait for a common standard when the window of opportunity is about to slam shut. The XML solution Companies are increasingly turning to XML to address the issue of a common standard. XML, which lets companies exchange data over existing Internet connections, can be learned quickly, and is set up for easy display and programming.
Users can even apply a style sheet to an XML file and view it precisely as they wish.
Nevertheless, XML does little more than provide a standard framework for making agreements about communications. It allows common data exchange, but true interoperability requires not just interoperable syntax, but interoperable semantics. According to Mike Gilpin, vice president, research leader at Giga Information Group, XML hasn't exactly produced the results companies envisioned. Vendors who create products or services that link business partners or buyers and sellers over the Web are struggling to meet the needs of e-business companies who want to reduce costs, improve customer and partner satisfaction, differentiate themselves from the competition, build business, and boost revenues. Those vendors are affected by the volatility of the standards and by the realities of e-business.