Document Management
XML can help companies manage their documents much more cost efficiently than they do now. Some of the advantages include:
Efficient, accurate delivery of information accross multiple formats like paper, CD-ROM and the World Wide Web without having to reformat the text manually for each medium
Reduction of redundant work
Protection from hardware and software obsolescence. Every upgrade in your hardware and software won't require you to reformat your documents.
Arbortext, a company that produces a program utilizing XML, lists the following typical indicators of organizations ripe for an XML/SGML solution:
Valuable document information. Organizations that distribute information of great value include primarily publishers of technical, medical, legal, or business data, and manufacturers of complex products whose operating and service manuals represent vital companions to the products themselves. These organizations invest heavily in the creation and distribution of information that their customers consider crucial. As a result, these organizations stand to benefit the most from products that can increase the accuracy, timeliness, and flexibility of their information while reducing the cost of its creation and maintenance.
Multiple output formats. XML/SGML is format-independent and, in a robust application, can easily generate multiple outputs, such as printed documentation, field service update bulletins, CD-ROM distribution, online (e.g., Internet) delivery, on-demand printing, help files, and machine-readable data. Storage over substantial lengths of time. New generations of computer hardware and software now appear every 18 months. When an organization must manage information over a period of decades, the hardware and software that were used to create the information will be long obsolete while the information itself is still useful. XML/SGML is hardware- and software-independent.
Multiple sources of information. When information must be collected from multiple sources, the effort to integrate the information is substantially less if all sources use a common format rather than a number of differing formats. XML/SGML provides a standard common format for multiple sources of information.
Multiple points of review before information is approved. Information that has not been reviewed and approved is qualitatively different than information that has been reviewed and approved, even if the review does not change any of the information. The different reviews become part of the information, especially if product liability is a factor. ArborText can provide the means for storing and processing information from the review process.
Conditional information. If the information in a document varies depending on factors external to the information, such as service instructions that vary according to the weather, a correct presentation of information needs to account for those factors. XML/SGML provides a means to identify information that is variable and to control the presentation of the information based on external conditions.
Any company that has a need to update, transfer, or access specific data could benefit from an XML solution. The automotive, aerospace, and telecommunications industries, just to name a few, already employ XML based programs to create, maintain, and distribute their document information over multiple mediums. Other types of businesses that would clearly benefit from XML include the healthcare industry, where patient history needs to be physically moved to a new doctor or hospital. If the healthcare industry agreed on a standard format, any doctor could access and update information, ensuring access to complete and up to date medical history.
Data Interchange
XML also has major implications for EDI. An EDI/XML platform could extend electronic data interchange capabilities to a much broader set of small and medium sized businesses that haven't been able to afford an EDI solution. Efforts are already underway to develop a method for sending EDI messages over non-dedicated networks such as the Internet. The method is specifically designed for use by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with no specialist, in-house information technology (IT) support staff. Therefore, start-up and support costs would be lower than with traditional EDI. Equally important is that the EDI/XML solution can be made compatible with existing EDI systems.
In September of this year, 3Com reworked its website, employing XML to improve functionality and connections to their vendors and resellers. The company spent about four months reworking its I-commerce Web site to accept and use XML which is used to transfer customer orders and information to channel partners' I-commerce sites like CDW.
Customers now can fill an online shopping cart at 3Com's site and transfer that information automatically to a channel partner of their choice. Previously, customers needed to re-enter product information once they had connected to the partner's site. Because XML allows the creation and description of tags which identifies specific data (E.G. cost, quantity, etc...), 3Com can now transfer the data seamlessly to their reseller using the same platform.
Highlighting the benefits of XML and the limitations of HTML, Susan Fisher of CDW said, "XML, as a new format, gives you the same benefits as a database [...] This is something that you can't get with HTML."
For more information on EDI/XML and examples of companies using XML to solve real world problems, visit:
http://microsoft.com/xml/scenario/intro.asp
http://www.arbortext.com/customer.html
http://www.geocities.com/WallStreet/Floor/5815/cap01.htm
http://www.geocities.com/WallStreet/Floor/5815/
http://www.geocities.com/WallStreet/Floor/5815/guide.htm