Message text written by INTERNET:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >--- IBM, Microsoft** and Ariba to jump start a new, open standard --- Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI) is an industry standard specification and registry being founded by IBM*, Microsoft** and Ariba** to enable businesses to quickly, easily and dynamically find and transact with one another online using their preferred applications. UDDI will make it fast and easy for businesses to find the right business partners and suppliers over the Internet and immediately understand how they can interact to conduct e-business. Get the details at the main UDDI or IBM related Web pages. Main UDDI site http://www.uddi.org <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Hmmmm, some very interesting double speak being employed here. "Businesses are going to use their preferred applications", but those had better use SOAP or similar - as that is dictated by the UDDI spec's. Issue #1 - this is clearly not a very open 'industry standard specification'. This all sounds so wonderful for Ariba, Microsoft and IBM - but will businesses really buy into this? And how will UDDI avoid the impression of a by-invitation-only club? Come to think of it - since Microsoft and IBM track record here is one of 180' turns how long will this latest love affair last? Just long enough to ensure that Novell's death throes are real, and that BowStreet gets squeezed out, then its back to business as usual?? Oh, yes, and Oracle is conspicious by their absence, as are AOL, AT&T and the USPS - all of whom have the real millions of potential businesses, delivery mechanisms and information right now. How long before we hear that IBM is supporting BizTalk too? This one may be a little delayed - MQ-Series servers talking to BizTalk servers? This may open up IBM to competition it might not want. So let's recap' on all this: 1999/ Q1 -2000 Everyone except Microsoft and Ariba is committed to ebXML. Industry groups and USGov are moving in direction of supporting ebXML. Q1 - 2000 IBM agrees to co-develop SOAP with Microsoft. Q1 - 2000 IBM and Ariba draw close. Q2 - 2000 IBM submits its tpaML work to ebXML as a public effort. Q2 - 2000 CommerceNet publishes eCo tech' spec's to complete work on eCo framework. Q3 - 2000 IBM does 180' and decides to develop UDDI - clearly cutting across the bows of its own earlier TPA work, and adopting SOAP, not an open binding layer as transport. UDDI work running parallel to ebXML, but behind closed doors. Q4 - 2000 UDDI announced and invited group of vendors leap in; some without even being allowed to see the spec's. IBM left in awkward position vis TPA but justifies this on tenuous basis of 'having to implement now'. What is driving this is fear. Fear that companies like BowStreet will control the pivotal axle around which all eBusiness must rotate. Enough fear to make Microsoft and IBM pool resources to ensure they can control this key sector. FAX is the technology that is being replaced here, and FAX of course was the domain of the Telco's - with FAX servers, distributed FAX, and FAX routing....So lots of these companies in these 'Yellow Pages' are just going to be assigned a default profile "EMail" and they can be reached as needed via that - but then what about their application systems? Q4 - 2000 I'd love to see the USPS endorsing ebXML for its eServices initiative - I bet you could count the nanoseconds on one hand before UDDI is back into ebXML then... OK - so all that manuevering aside, from the technology side UDDI is a very 'bottom-up' approach. Figure out their e-Address, then what e-Systems they have, and then what we can send them. However, as you come up from the bottom, you collide with ebXML - which is a top-down approach. How do you locate potential industry partners by industry, product, business process and so forth? The ebXML work is much closer to solving those problems, and specifically the ebXML Repository sits squarely at the point of collision. UDDI is using SOAP to talk to a Repository; while ebXML is neutral http and XML based. UDDI is already talking about things like GUID's to identify business elements within context. ebXML already has rich work on GUID's in place. So who runs past who? When do the UDDI folks come to their senses and realize that UDDI is NOT going to be adopted by the USGov ahead of ebXML? How many industry groups like GCI will stick with ebXML for that very reason? Will this all blow over when Microsoft and Ariba decide that ebXML is not a wicked pact to destroy them - but an open effort they can embrace? Clearly the UDDI work can be re-cast as an adjunct to ebXML, and aligned with it with the right commitment from IBM - and Bob Sutor - the man in the middle - (IBM's XML coordinator who backed both ebXML, then UDDI, and who is chair of OASIS board as well). Microsoft may well have joined ebXML earlier it seems if they too had had a board position. Redmond always prefers to be a driver. It may be too late for that to build a bridge. I would love to be proved wrong on that one. Right now we have many more questions than answers!!! I have a feeling though that this is one time when the questions are going to be answered rather more quickly than usual.... DW. ------ XML/edi Group Discussion List ------ Homepage http://www.XMLedi-Group.org Unsubscribe send email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Leave the subject and body of the message blank Questions/requests: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To receive only one message per day (digest format) send the following message to [EMAIL PROTECTED], (leave the subject line blank) digest xmledi-group your-email-address To join the XML/edi Group complete the form located at: http://www.xmledi-group.org/xmledigroup/mail1.htm
