How XML is changing the Future of Business?

The next generations of browsers are all going to support XML, software multinationals like Microsoft, IBM and Netscape are backing it and releasing a wide range of XML compatible products, so you know that it is going to be 'big'!

As individuals we all indulge in some form of commercial activity or the other, be it buying books, garments or food. Companies and organizations that we are a part of, conduct commerce on a much larger scale. Buying stationery or machinery comprises what is called B2B or business-to-business commerce. When we buy a piece of clothing from a clothes store we are a part of B2C or business-to-consumer activities. The store buys dozens of garments from a wholesaler who purchases a thousand or more garments from a distributor. For one B2C transaction there are several B2B transactions conducted. The garment stores sends orders, receives goods, invoices and bank statements. It is easy to see how errors can happen at any of these stages. Errors of any kind can result in an enormous administration overload that can cut into profits and push a business to the bleeding edge.

• Improved efficiency as a result of a standardization in the representation and transfer of all information
• Transformation of data from XML to outputs in various media (Web, CD ROM, paper) without the necessity of modifying and duplicating content repeatedly
• Reuse of data at any period of time, XML being a text-based formatv Simplifications of communication as all users at any end only need to know the common XML vocabulary that is agreed upon.
• Researching, indexing and locating data will be more accurate as all information will possesses self-describing attributes
• Browsers will do most of the processing and updating of datav Multilingual web sites as XML supports Unicode
• Customization of information
• Accessibility to devices of any kind - desk top systems, personal digital assistants and cellular phones, without the user having to make any adjustments at his end
• Increased reliability in software
• Lesser time and cost to implement and market changes

XML-based applications in Ecommerce are fast gaining momentum. Some of the areas that will see a metamorphosis are:

Online Publishing and Web Maintenance
Data published in XHTML possesses the structure to model itself in any chosen manner. The same information can be accessed and read in multiple languages, even in Arabic and Japanese. Different views of the same data can be provided to different users. Any XML document can contain a description of its grammar or syntax that can be used to perform structural validations later.

Content and knowledge management
An entire range of businesses will avail of a variety of XML-based choices to format their back-end applications. The type of business dictates the kind of XML vocabulary. The banking and financial sectors (e-marketplaces) have begun to use FinML for the exchange and storage of data, while, content syndication adheres to The Information and Content Exchange Protocol. Similarly, insurance, real estate and a host of other industries use XML languages. And in fields where a suitable vocabulary is not available, a generic one (an example being - OmniMark) that inclines towards the specific requirements can be used.

Data Exchange
Health Care systems, pharmaceutical agencies and other related organizations will be able to interchange patient records and billing data by replacing their existing disparate systems with a single common XML-based one. Drug testing and research will happen with greater ease and within a shorter span of time if a single storage format is adopted by all health care services.

In any field, be it web development or any kind of merchandising, a common information format, one for the output and another for the input will enable any system or application in any programming language to exchange data with each other in a simple manner.

Supply Chain Integration
Order generation, order taking and fulfillment, distribution of products, services between manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers, retailers that have traditionally used EDI (Electronic Data Format) that is expensive and requires sophisticated networking will switch to simple, inexpensive XML formats, resulting in the frictionless movement of Ecommerce.