Boston June 27, 2001 ZapThink LLC today announced the launch of the first industry research and analysis focusing entirely on the Extensible Markup Language (XML). The focus of ZapThink is on producing research and analysis on XML and its adoption by businesses, scientific and academic institutions, and governments. Ronald Schmelzer, a recognized expert on XML standards and adoption and frequent speaker on XML topics at industry events, leads ZapThink as senior analyst and chief editor of research produced by the organization. Schmelzer, a cofounder of ChannelWave Software, plays a leading role in CPExchange, UDDI, and CompTIA XML standards working groups. Rather than competing with other established analyst organizations, ZapThink will add valuable support to their activities by providing research specifically targeted at the XML space.
"We are excited to launch this service and provide the most comprehensive and timely information to help organizations determine how best to make investments in XML technologies and standards," said Schmelzer. "We provide the highest-quality research on XML standards and adoption and look forward to providing our knowledge and expertise to businesses, analysts and journalists seeking to gain better understanding of the profound impact that XML is making and will continue make in the next few years."
XML technology is rapidly changing the way that information is exchanged and business is conducted. A platform-neutral, structured language that shares its origins with the HyperText Markup Language (HTML) currently powering the web, XML is poised to become the dominant technology for powering business and information exchanges. It was accepted as a recommendation by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) in early 1998 and has since gained significant adoption from thousands of businesses and developers worldwide. The business benefits of using XML include reduced cost for integrating systems, enhanced ability to interact with suppliers regardless of back-end systems and the free exchange of structured information.
While XML has been in existence for the past three years, the number of new technologies and standards being announced using XML has grown exponentially. ZapThink provides guidance by helping organizations understand these XML technologies and make best use of what is available.
Since October 2000, ZapThink, LLC has produced the ZapThink XML Standards Report, a six-volume report containing the most complete detailed information on more than 400 XML-based standards and initiatives in a categorized manner. Excerpts of this report was subsequently licensed to OASIS for use in the XML.org industry portal and information Web site. As part of the relationship, ZapThink provides XML.org with an online, categorized listing of over 400 XML standards originating from over 300 standards organizations. This information includes details about the standards including the standard name and founding organization, dates of inception, current status, categorization, overview of the standard, and a brief sample.
