====================================================
IN THIS ISSUE
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--  Introduction
--  Special offer from BrainStorm Group
--  Highlights of our April eBusiness Integration Conference from Bill Ulrich:
     - Wireless Data and the Mobile Internet 
     - Executive Day Presentations
     - Case Studies 
--  The Analysts Corner: Unleash the Power of XML
--  The Brainstorm Difference
--  Calendar of upcoming events
--  Contact us
--  Changing your subscription information
 

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INTRODUCTION
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Hello and welcome to the latest issue of BrainStorm Group's eBusiness Bulletin. Join me in welcoming Jon Huntress as he assumes the role of editor for this publication. Jon has a great deal of experience as a writer, reporter and editor of online newsletters for several successful 
interactive publications and we are glad to have him aboard.

In this issue we speak with William Ulrich of Tactical Strategy Group about the upcoming eBusiness Integration Conference in Chicago on April 16, 17 and 18. 

The slowdown in the economy and the fall out of the dot coms have clouded the real issues that businesses have to confront in the next two years. Moving aggressively forward and 
implementing e-commerce initiatives can save companies millions, and also puts them in the best position to be competitive in the global marketplace for the next ten years. Small, medium and big businesses and also governments are making a commitment to integration using e-solutions to become more profitable and productive. 

BrainStorm's eBusiness Integration Conference has brought together the e-business integration "thought leaders" for a world-class agenda and offers the most current, 
non-biased information available anywhere today.

Our popular One-On-One meetings allow conference attendees to schedule appointments with leading analysts and featured presenters of their choice to discuss their own business issues and challenges their company's are facing in detail.

I look forward to hosting you in Chicago.

Gregg V. Rock
President
 
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FREE COMPANION PASS WHEN YOU REGISTER!!
====================================================

eBusiness Integration Conference, Chicago - April 16-18: The eBusiness Integration Conference is the leading source for B2B Integration Strategies and Solutions. For conference
Brochure, complete agenda  and additional information visit: http://www.brainstorm-group.com

eBusiness Bulletin Subscribers receive a COMPLIMENTARY Companion Pass when you register and pay for a 3-day conference package. Use Priority Code EBB301 when registering online.

http://www.brainstorm-group.com/bsgweb/index.asp?conf=2378515370
 

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APRIL CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS
by Jon Huntress
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WIRELESS DATA AND THE MOBILE INTERNET
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William Ulrich gives a synopsis of the issues which will be addressed at the April eBusiness Integration Conference: 

BrainStorm Group's Executive Day on April 16 will kick-off
with two seminars: 

• Supply Chain Integration hosted by Ram Reddy, Author of 
  Supply Chains to Virtual Integration, and;
   
• Executive Guide to Wireless Internet, given by Brenda 
  Lewis of Principal Transactions Marketing. 

Editor's Note: Wireless Internet is a very hot topic now, especially with Sear's announcement yesterday that it is going to deploy 15,000 wireless PDAs throughout their 860 stores. 
 

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EXECUTIVE DAY PRESENTATIONS
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One of the high points will be the topic of Achieving Success in the E-Marketplace. This presentation is by Andy Plyler, the CEO of EXOSTAR, the electronic market exchange for the 
aerospace industry created by Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and BAE Systems. The success of B2B exchanges are one of the factors driving the need for integration services and solutions.

David Linthicum, author of "B2B Application Integration: e-Business-Enable Your Enterprise" is going to talk about what to expect for the next five years and the best B2B strategy to use. Some work very well, but as we have seen, others don't.

William Ulrich of Tactical Strategy Group is going to give a presentation on business driven integration, which looks at the entire business as an eco-system, where e-changes in one 
unit are sure to cause changes in all the other units. 

The Executive Day Program will conclude with an Experts Panel on Critical Success Factors in E-Business Integration moderated by William M. Ulrich and featuring:

• Andy Plyler, CEO & President, Exostar
   
• Lou Russell, Principal, Russell Martin Associates & Sr. Consultant, Cutter Consortium
   
• JP Morgenthal, Author of Enterprise Application Development with XML and Java
   
• David Linthicum, Author of B2B Application Integration: e-Business-Enable Your Enterprise
   
• Brenda Lewis, Principal, Transactions Marketing Inc.

 
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CASE STUDIES
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One of the hallmarks of BrainStorm Group's programs has been End User Case Studies and Chicago will continue that tradition by featuring case studies on supply chain integration, 
e-marketplace integration, managing e-business projects, B-2-C-2-B Integration, Web to Legacy Integration, and BPM Integration.

Hear how: 

• Iowa Telecom automated 80% of their transaction volume,
  resulting in bottom line savings and improved customer
  service.
   
• Haystack Toys, of St. Louis, MO streamlined their supply
  chain operations through a web-based front-end purchasing
  interface.
   
• Major regulatory issues that are coming down from the 
  government and from International agreements on privacy and 
  data protection will affect your company. Cathy Hotka of 
  the National Retail Federation is going to give a talk on 
  security policy and regulation in the retail environment.

A Full Conference Brochure is available online.

Let's talk in Chicago,

Jon Huntress
 

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Sponsor Message
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Receive a free copy of ERICOM's eBusiness Integration Software!

Register for the eBusiness Integration Conference and Receive
a COMPLIMENTARY copy of ERICOM's eBusiness Integration
Software (a $5,000 value!)

====================================================
Sponsor Message
====================================================
 

 
In the Analysts corner, we will bring you advice from 
the best analysts and experts in the world. 

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THE ANALYSTS CORNER
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Unleash the Power of XML
by Gautam Desai, Senior Analyst and Joe Fenner, 
Senior Technical Writer 

Extensible Markup Language (XML) has moved beyond the buzzword stage and into implementation. XML provides a straightforward mechanism for creating standard data
definitions. Adhering to standard definitions simplifies the process of transmitting data between business partners, streamlining commerce, and exchanging data and content.

XML is a meta-language that can be used to define data characteristics of documents (as opposed to HTML, which is a tag-based text language primarily intended to define display
characteristics of documents). For example, by defining a common data schema in XML that is understood by two trading partners, those partners can readily exchange and import data directly into their own databases or back-end systems.

XML is heralded as the great equalizer for business-to-business (B2B) e- commerce, thanks to the following benefits.

Platform independence. Because XML is platform independent, it does not matter which operating systems or platforms you or your trading partners use. Low cost of entry. The costs of XML are lower than for other data exchange alternatives, such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). While EDI is a documented standard, the technologies needed to implement it are expensive and require extensive customization and programming. Thus, EDI is used mostly in very large organizations with considerable information technology budgets and internal resources. In contrast, XML is far less expensive and cumbersome, opening the door for smaller companies to participate in online data exchange with their partners. 

Opportunity for standardization. XML enables the creation of document type definitions (DTDs) that define the data structure and fields of a given document type. Assuming all the trading partners in an industry or vertical market use the same DTDs, they can trade data seamlessly, with little need for additional customization or integration. To this end, some industries have formed consortiums to define standard DTDs for documents commonly exchanged in their industries.

With these benefits, XML will have a profound impact on two major areas of your business: interoperability and syndication. 

Sharing Data Seamlessly
Interoperability yields one of the biggest bangs for the buck for your XML investment. This includes sharing data between your internal systems and with external trading partners. 

Internally, using XML makes it easier for data in multiple disparate systems to be used together or shared in a common application. For example, organizations may have one legacy system for customer information, another for accounting and billing functions, and a third for inventory. By generating XML output from a given system, the data can be shared with different systems or custom applications to bring the disparate systems together. 

Thus, XML can cut the time and effort needed to integrate internal systems over traditional programming and custom integration methods. It can be beneficial, for example, if you need to import data from multiple customer databases into a single repository, or if you need to integrate the systems of two different companies brought together by a merger.

Externally, XML lets organizations extract data from back-end systems and put it into a standard format that other organizations can ingest directly into their own back-end systems. One organization could generate an invoice in XML, and the receiving company could import it directly into its own accounts payable system. In the past, this level of integration would require costly custom development for every partner you wanted to trade with. 

Of course, the key to seamless exchange is for the trading partners to agree on the data definitions, schemas or taxonomies for the documents they share. 

Joining B2B Marketplaces
The other big impact XML will have on your business will result from its ability to easily syndicate your content to multiple marketplaces and commerce sites.
Electronic marketplaces are becoming a major channel for B2B trade. If you want to work through multiple marketplaces, you must be able to provide your data to the sites in a common format. If you format your product catalog in XML, the various marketplaces to which you send it can ensure that your defined fields (product SKU, description, price, size, etc.) are used appropriately on their sites. Manually formatting data and content for different distribution points is highly cumbersome; XML lets you do it once and syndicate the information to any number of distribution points.

Similarly, marketplaces will make things simpler by following XML standards. A marketplace that accepts catalog information from hundreds of suppliers can then import all data into a common repository and can even process transactions for all suppliers' products in the same fashion. For any organization, the end goal of syndication is to get content describing its products or services in front of as many potential customers as possible. With literally hundreds of e-marketplaces in operation today, it makes sense to leverage them as a key sales channel. For the marketplaces themselves, accepting syndicated content from multiple suppliers differentiates the site, attracting more customers and generating more revenue.

Overcoming Obstacles
While XML offers many benefits, there are still many obstacles to overcome. The major areas of concern in the near term include the following. Choosing standards. Acceptance of new XML-based standards is required to help drive adoption. For example, the Internet Content Exchange (ICE) standard is an XML-based standard designed specifically for the sharing and syndication of Web content. Simple object access protocol (SOAP) is an XML-based protocol for passing messages between systems over the Internet, which is great for application-to-application communications across different platforms. The problem is that multiple standards are emerging simultaneously, and organizations may find themselves supporting several standards just to be able to deal with different partners in their supply chains.

Choosing technologies. While XML is easier than alternatives such as EDI, it is by no means simple. Many different tools are needed to facilitate XML implementations, including XML editors, XSL tools, XML schema/DTD editors, XML viewers and XML servers (see sidebar). While some XML utilities are inexpensive or even free, the challenge is picking the right tools from among the myriad products available, not to mention configuring them in a cohesive system. Compromising performance. While XML is great as a data-sharing language, it is not suited for every type of application. Because XML technology is based on parsers, it is not good for applications that require very fast response times. There are some data exchange applications in which XML will be too slow, creating performance bottlenecks or unacceptable response times. Therefore, it is imperative that you test performance before you put your applications into production.

XML-Enabled Software
Fortunately, many vendors of application software are beginning to incorporate varying levels of XML support into their products. Web application server vendors like Bluestone Software, Philadelphia, provide full-fledged XML servers right out of the box that allow developers to quickly write applications that can pull data from back-end systems and convert the information to XML (and import XML data back into those systems).

Likewise, XML support can bring great power to content management systems. For example, if all of the data in your content management repository adheres to XML standards, it is a simple matter of applying different stylesheets to reformat the data for presentation in different clients, such as Web browsers or wireless devices.

In the document management industry, vendors have been somewhat slow to adopt XML. The vendors that are more heavily focused on Web content management are farthest along. Chrystal Software, San Diego, and IntraNet Solutions, Eden Prairie, MN, provide XML output and publishing capabilities in its products. E-commerce and content management vendor Broadvision, Redwood City, CA, recently acquired Interleaf for its robust XML capabilities. 

The fact is, the software vendors face the same challenges as end-user organizations trying to implement XML: namely, picking the right standards, bundling the right technologies to handle XML-related processing and using XML in a way that does not hinder performance. 

Understanding XML
XML (extensible markup language) is a markup language, similar to HTML. But unlike HTML, which describes the structure of a document, XML is a meta-markup language - a set of rules for creating tags that describe the data itself. XML can be used to describe an "Account Number" field as an eight-character alphanumeric field, while the "Amount Due" field can be defined as a numeric field with two characters after the decimal to represent cents. 
A number of related standards drive XML in implementation, including the following.
DTD (document type definition) specifies the schema of a particular XML model. For example, the specifications for field definitions for a particular document type are contained within a DTD. 
XML schemas are a superset of the functionality provided by DTDs, including data-typing and relationships between data.
XSL (extensible stylesheet language) is used to develop stylesheets that determine the display of XML documents. Different XSL stylesheets can be used to reformat the same XML data for different uses, such as display on a Web page or display in a handheld wireless device.
XSLT (extensible stylesheet language transformations) is a language used to convert XML documents into other XML documents, and may be used independently of XSL. 
SOAP (simple object access protocol) is a standard protocol for applications or systems to pass messages to one another, regardless of their platform or location. SOAP uses XML schemas to describe the data carried in each message, enabling nodes to remotely invoke application objects and return results. 

Imaging & Document Solutions, December 2000

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THE BRAINSTORM DIFFERENCE
====================================================

BrainStorm Group's Conferences are the ONLY executive forums featuring:

• ALL of the Leading Analyst/Research firms including: Giga Information Group, Gartner Group, Boston Consulting Group Hurwitz Group, the Yankee Group, Aberdeen Group, Jupiter Communications, Doculabs, Cutter Consortium, INPUT, The Robert Frances Group, and more. You get cutting-edge, non-biased information from a variety of presenters who are all authorities.
   
• One-on-0ne meetings with leading analysts and featured conference presenters. Take advantage of this invaluable opportunity.
   
• End User Case Studies: Our case study presentations show what is happening with real-world examples from major companies showing what problems they encountered and solved. 
   
• Dedicated Daily Networking Opportunities: Plenty of time is set aside for networking with other attendees and vendors.
   
• End User Led Executive Advisory Board
   
• No Sales/Marketing Pitches
   
• Register Now! or call Linda O'Donnell at 508-393-3266 with any questions. 

 
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
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eBusiness Integration Conference Series
Chicago, April 16-18, 2001
New York, September 19-21, 2001
San Francisco, October 29-31, 2001

eBusiness Strategy Conference Series
Chicago April 16-18, 2001
New York, September 19-21, 2001
San Francisco, October 29-31, 2001

 
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CONTACT US
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The eBusiness Bulletin is a service of the BrainStorm Group eBusiness Integration Conference Series and the eBusiness Strategy Conference Series, Northboro, Massachusetts:

Contact Information: 
Gregg V. Rock, President

For Sponsorship Information:
Mark Needham

For Registration Information:
Linda O'Donnell

For Call for Papers:
Stacey Murphy 

For This Newsletter:
Jon Huntress

 
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