XML not a complete solution, says Mercator

Extensible Markup Language (XML) will not cure the data processing problems that many vendors say it will, a leading authority on databases and middleware warned today.

XML is a flexible way to create common information formats and share both format and information across internet-based networks in a consistent way. But while XML is important, in that it provides standards based interoperability and operating system and component model independence, it is not a complete enterprise application integration solution, nor does it represent a breakthrough in database and middleware technology, according to ebusiness software vendor Mercator.

Many vendors, including Microsoft, Oracle and Computer Associates, are heavily promoting XML in their technology and it is emerging as a universal data interchange format, and seen as a way for companies to embrace the internet.

Tony Percy, vice president of strategic planning at Mercator, and former research director at Gartner, said: "XML has a role, but it isn't going to be the whole world and it will not replace Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) or [SAP] R/3."

Percy said that enterprises should be mindful that XML is processor intensive, adding between 500 per cent and 600 per cent to mainframe processor cycles, and that it is not the best approach for internal application integration, though he conceded that it was "crucial" for external integration.

According to Percy, who said Microsoft was "oversimplifying" the technology, users should look to see where the technology makes business sense before rushing into universal deployment.

Jean Corriveau, senior vice president at Computer Associates, said Percy's analysis ignored the fact that XML is a powerful tool for users in reducing the time to market for ecommerce applications. It provides an open interface to link together directories with different schemas, said Corriveau, who predicted that XML would become a standard and replace EDI.

"XML is a powerful way in interfacing systems and application integration," he said, conceding that as a "least common denominator" users might have to make performance compromises with XML.

Robin Bloor, chief executive at Bloor Research, said: "XML was never designed as a metadata [data describing data] language."

"With metadata you need something more than tags, you need an agreed language," added Bloor, who said that despite its limitations XML would leave EDI without a future.